Another Source of Magic
by Shadow's Mirror
Summary: Bakura is tired of living as Ryou's shadow. He's also bored. A dangerous combination. Especially when you add in the discovery of another source of Shadow Magic, one that can make all of Bakura's dreams and wishes come true. Or so he thinks... Complete
1. A New Card, An Old Power

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Text in italics indicates a character's thoughts. ****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 1: A New Card, An Old Power  
By Shadow's Mirror

Yami Bakura paced with swift, angry strides across the room and back again. Every few steps, he paused to glare at the teenage boy sitting at the desk over by the window. The boy was silently leafing through a thick book, stopping every now and then to read something. Each time he stopped to read, he'd turn his attention to the notebook in front of him and his pen would move swiftly over the page. He was paying no attention to Bakura at all. Bakura hated being ignored. 

With a low growl, the spirit stalked over to the boy, slamming his hand down on the book just as the boy began to turn the page. 

"Stop that!"

Ryou jumped, startled as much by Bakura's action as his sharp voice. He blinked up at his Yami, his wide brown eyes looking bewildered. Not that there was anything unusual in that. He usually looked that way when Bakura was around. It was just one of many things that annoyed the spirit about his light. 

"Bakura? What is it? Is something wrong?" Worry flashed through Ryou's eyes, although he remained as calm as ever. His anxiety faded as the spirit shook his head impatiently.

"Don't be stupid. How could anything be wrong and you not know about it? We're in the same room! We've been in the same room all stinking day!" His voice rose and he started pacing again. 

"I am so sick and tired of just waiting around watching you read that stupid book!" He whirled around to glare at his light, noting with satisfaction the way the boy tensed in surprise at the sudden movement. Although the promise he'd made in Battle City stopped him from hurting Ryou, he hated anyone thinking that he'd gone soft. He was just as dangerous as ever. His eyes narrowed at the thought. He'd gone easy on his light for a while now. Maybe it was time he reminded Ryou of his real nature. 

He stalked over to his light and leaned down, pushing his face into Ryou's until there were only a few inches between them. He could see the boy's alarm in the sudden widening of his eyes. He could hear it in the soft gasp of breath. He could even smell the faint scent of fear. It intoxicated him. He sneered at his weak light. 

"I'm bored." 

Ryou blinked. He'd expected his darker half to say something a little more… intimidating. He fought the smile that threatened to appear, knowing that it would only annoy Bakura. Ryou didn't want to do that. Bakura seemed to be quite annoyed enough as it was. 

"I see…" 

Bakura scowled and leaned further forward, forcing Ryou to move back. "I said, I'm bored! Duel with me! Now!" His voice was strong, commanding, powerful, and had the same effect on Ryou as it had ever since Battle City. Ryou smiled at him with such gentleness that the spirit was momentarily stunned and completely forgot that he'd been trying to give his light an order. 

"I'm sorry Bakura, but I can't right now." Ryou waved to the books on his desk, his voice soft and apologetic as he explained. "I have a big math test tomorrow. I really need to study today."

Bakura blinked, backing off slightly in shock. His light was refusing his command? His light never refused him anything! Ryou was too weak to stand up to him! He scowled down at the boy. 

"I don't care about your stupid test! I'm bored and I want to duel! Now duel with me!" He winced inwardly. He'd gone from sounding commanding to something so close to pleading that he was sickened by the sound of his own voice. He forced himself not to react to the look in his light's eyes. He hated being pitied even more than he hated being ignored!

Ryou shook his head, trying to harden his heart against the loneliness he heard in his yami's voice. "I really can't just now, Bakura. Why don't you find something else to do?" 

Bakura snorted and whirled away, his steps taking him across to the window. Staring outside he sneered at his reflection in the glass. "Like what? Oh wait, I know, I could go for a nice long walk outside. Just me, all alone, in my shadow-magicked body. The one that requires your physical presence nearby just so I can appear in it." He snorted again. "The only place I can go is back into my soul room, and it's even more boring than out here! As if that were possible…" 

Ryou winced at the sarcasm. "Actually, I meant for you to… I don't know… Read a book, perhaps?" 

The spirit snorted again, looking away so Ryou couldn't see his eyes. Not for all the world would he admit the truth to his light. He didn't have Ryou's gift for languages. Although he could read hieroglyphs fluently, English and Japanese gave him a headache every time he tried to make sense of them. But Ryou was waiting patiently for a response… "Books are your thing, not mine. Besides," he glared at the reflection of Ryou he could see in the window, "how do you expect me to turn the pages? I can't touch anything, remember?" 

A slight frown creased Ryou's forehead as he distinctly remembered a couple of times when he'd seen Bakura touch something in his spirit form. He made a mental note to ask Yugi if he'd noticed it with Yami too. For now though, he put that thought aside. Bakura was obviously not in any mood for that kind of conversation. Or any other kind of conversation, for that matter. 

"Hmm… well then…" Ryou looked around the room, trying to think of something his yami could do, so Bakura would leave him alone to study. 

His eyes came to rest on his duel deck and he suddenly remembered something. "Oh! I know! I bought some new cards at Yugi's Grandfather's last Friday! I can't believe I forgot about them!" Jumping up, he hurried across the room to where his schoolbag was neatly tucked away on the bottom shelf of his bookcase. 

Bakura blinked, his interest caught by the mention of cards. He turned to watch as his light searched through the bag. "New cards? Any good ones?"

"I don't know. I haven't looked at them yet. I was in a hurry so I just put them in here. Somewhere… Ah!" He turned, smiling triumphantly at Bakura as he waved several small foil packets in the air. "Found them!" 

Returning to his desk, Ryou carefully cut the packets open and tipped their contents into his hand. He turned to speak to Bakura and gasped, startled to find his yami standing right behind him. "Don't do that!" 

Bakura snorted and stared at the cards in his light's hand. "What are they?" 

Ryou shrugged and held out the cards, smiling slightly at the eagerness his yami couldn't quite hide. "Why don't you look through them while I study? If there are any interesting ones, you might be able to come up with some new strategies." He almost laughed as Bakura snatched the cards out of his hand and hurried over to the bed. 

As Ryou sat down at his desk again, he thought of something. "You can touch some things. You have no trouble holding those cards." He glanced over at Bakura, smiling slightly when he noticed that the spirit was already lost in thought. 

Bakura shrugged, his mind distracted from his light's words by the cards in his hands. "That's because they channel the Shadow Magic. I can touch them, just like I can touch the Millennium Items. Now be quiet and let me concentrate!"

Ryou barely kept from chuckling as he turned his attention back to his textbook. 

* * *

As Bakura looked at the cards, he barely managed to keep from smiling. Ryou never just bought one packet of Duel Monster cards. In this case, he'd bought five. Bakura carefully counted the cards to make sure Ryou hadn't been cheated. Satisfied that all forty-five cards were there, he started looking through them. But his thoughts weren't entirely on the cards.

_He's right, I can touch some things. If they have enough Shadow Magic in them. But nothing else. It's annoying. I hate having to rely on Ryou for my physical form. He's so weak. Half the time I can't do what I want to do even in his form! He just doesn't have the strength for it! Even when I can do what I want, I have to wait until it's 'convenient' for him! Like now! Cards or no cards, right now I'd rather be anywhere than cooped up in this blasted room!_

Bakura sighed softly, careful not to do it loudly enough for Ryou to hear him. He was also careful to keep the mind-link between he and his light closed. His thoughts would only distress his light and he didn't want that to happen. The Pharaoh had an annoying habit of finding out whenever Ryou had been distressed. 

_Cursed Pharaoh and that cursed light of his! If I had my old body back, I'd show them who was the strong one!_ He scowled as an irritatingly insistent voice at the back of his mind reminded him that the Pharaoh's control over the Shadow Magic was stronger than his own. The voice sounded a lot like Ryou's… He glared at Ryou's back, then returned his attention to the cards as he idly shuffled them. 

_If I could get my hands on one of the other Millennium Items…_ His hands stilled and he shuddered slightly at the thought, forcing his mind away from that particular path. He'd walked that road once before and it had almost killed him, and his light. He glanced over at Ryou, instinctively seeking to reassure himself that the boy was there, safe and well, even though he'd never admit to anyone that he cared at all. Not even to himself. He started shuffling the cards again, the familiar action soothing his temporary agitation as little else could.

_No, not the Millennium Items. What I need is something else. Another source of magic. Another type of power._

Bakura sighed and shook his head. Out of habit, he held the cards in one hand and drew the top card with his other hand, as though he was dueling. He paused before turning the card around. 

_Who am I kidding? The only magic that exists these days is the Shadow Magic, and the only way to access it is through the Millennium Items or through the… cards…_ Bakura's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the card he had just drawn. It was a good card, but that wasn't what made Bakura's skin prickle or his heartbeat begin to thunder in his ears. It was the idea that had just dawned in his mind.

_Of course! Why didn't I think of this before? That's it! That's the answer! _Bakura smiled as he gazed at the card in his hand. _I don't need a new source of magic. All I need is a new way to access the Shadow Magic, and with this card, that's exactly what I have! All I have to do is use my power to bring this card to life, and I can have everything I've ever wanted!_

Bakura threw back his head and began to laugh. Ryou spun around at the sound, his wide eyes filling with alarm as he saw the expression on his yami's face, but Bakura didn't even notice his reaction. Standing, the spirit held out the card in his hand. 

His eyes gleamed as he called upon the magic of the Shadow Realm to do his bidding. Across the room, Ryou started to stand, instinctively knowing that his yami was about to do something that Bakura, and possibly everyone else, would regret. His first thought was to try and stop him, but it was already too late. Bakura was speaking and his words stunned Ryou into stillness. 

The image on the card in the spirit's hand began to glow as a mist shimmered in the air in front of Bakura. The mist began to condense, quickly forming a physical version of the item the card had held. As the physical form became more solid, the image on the card faded. Finally, the card was blank and Bakura was holding an ancient spellbook covered with faded green leather etched with mystical symbols. 

Bakura looked down at the book and smiled, his brown eyes gleaming intensely as he ran his hand reverently over the book's worn cover. His idea had worked!

Ryou sank slowly into his chair, staring in shock at the book in his yami's hands. It was the Book of Secret Arts. The most powerful spellbook in Duel Monsters, and in the Shadow Realm. Ryou knew what the book could do in the game, but he had never thought about what it actually was. Now though, he suddenly realised the truth. 

It was a spellbook. It contained magic spells. Since it was from the Shadow Realm, the magic was Shadow-based, which meant that Bakura would be able to use those spells!

Ryou's eyes narrowed as he frowned at his yami. "Bakura! You promised!" He hated that his voice trembled slightly in fear. He had to be brave. His yami could not be allowed to hurt anyone! As Bakura's light, it was up to him to stop his yami!

Bakura scowled at his weak light, annoyed by the fear tainting the boy's voice. "I know! Stop reminding me! How could I ever forget?" He sneered at Ryou. "What? Do you really think I'm going to be so stupid as to try anything against that wretched Pharaoh and his brat? I'm just going to use it to get what I want, that's all!"

Ryou frowned slightly. His voice was very quiet when he finally spoke. "What do you want?" 

"Control." Bakura's reply was unhesitating, his voice sure and strong. "I want to be in control of my own life again. I want to be able to go where I like and do what I like, without being held back by…" He had been about to say 'you', but something in Ryou's eyes stopped him. "… anyone," he finished more quietly, before shaking himself out of the slight daze brought on by the pain in his light's gentle brown eyes. He really hated those eyes. They had the power to make him… feel. Luckily, Ryou had never realised it. 

Bakura blinked. Ryou was talking and he'd missed half of it. 

"What?"

"I said," Ryou repeated with his usual calm patience, "What are you going to do now?"

"Oh." Bakura hesitated, suddenly aware that he really hadn't thought that far ahead. He hadn't honestly thought that it would work at all. With the book in his hands though, he could feel the power within it. He felt like he could do anything. 

It was so different to how he'd been feeling only a few minutes earlier. Then, he hadn't even been able to go for a walk to ease his boredom. He blinked and smiled as the thought stuck in his mind. Suddenly, he knew exactly what he wanted to use the book to do!

Bakura smiled at his light. "I'm going to get myself a physical body."

To Be Continued…


	2. A Successful Spell

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *text* indicates a sound effect. ****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 2: A Successful Spell  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou gaped at his yami in shock. He couldn't possibly have heard him correctly. "You… you're going to do what?" 

Bakura looked down at the large spellbook in his hands and then glanced over at his light, a sneer on his lips. "You heard me. I'm going to use this book to magic myself up a real physical body. Then…" his eyes gleamed as he savoured the anticipation, "Then I'm going to go for a walk. All by myself. With you nowhere in sight." He closed his eyes to feel the thrill of that thought more clearly, and so missed the pain that flashed through his light's eyes. 

"But… but Bakura…" Ryou moved forward slightly, his hand hesitantly coming up as though he wanted to reach out to his yami. Bakura frowned and turned, his eyes opening just as Ryou's arm dropped back down to his side. The boy sighed and half-turned so he was facing away from Bakura. One hand moved up to rub his arm as though it pained him. In truth, even though the knife wound had long healed, at that moment Ryou could feel it as though it had just been cut again. He desperately wanted his yami to listen to him, but he knew that Bakura never would.

Bakura scowled at his light, angry that his moment of triumph had been interrupted. His expression shifted subtly as he recognised Ryou's defensive posture. As Ryou rubbed his arm, Bakura had to force himself to remain still. He wasn't sure what he was stopping himself from doing, only that he definitely did not want to do it. His voice was harsher than normal when he spoke. "Cut that out!"

Ryou tensed, glancing over his shoulder at his angry yami. Seeing Bakura's scowl deepen, Ryou forced himself to relax. Things were bad enough without Bakura being angered even more. Somehow, he had to calm his yami down! He tried a small smile. "Do you…" He had to force himself to finish what he'd started. "Do you need any help with the spell?" 

Bakura blinked, startled by his light's question as much as Ryou's hesitantly conciliatory voice. He shook his head; his anger fading as quickly as it had risen. "No. I'll manage."

For a moment, they stood there, silently eyeing each other. Neither one was sure what to do next. Finally, Bakura abruptly turned and started towards the door. Ryou blinked. "Bakura?"

"What?" Bakura snapped back, not even slowing down. 

"Are you… Will you…" Ryou bit his lip nervously. He wanted to ask his yami if he was going to be all right on his own, but he knew Bakura would react badly if he did so. He also wanted to ask Bakura if he would be coming back. After all, with a physical form, his yami would no longer need Ryou, and he had certainly complained often enough about having to be with him. Somehow though, Ryou knew he didn't need to ask that. His yami would return. He was sure of it. Still, he had to say something… Bakura had stopped at the door and was waiting impatiently for Ryou to finish what he'd started to say. 

"Will you… be back for dinner?" Ryou wasn't sure why he'd blurted that out. He blushed faintly in embarrassment as Bakura slowly turned to stare at him. "Well, physical bodies need to eat so I just thought…" Ryou forced himself to stop the rush of words. He gave Bakura an apologetic smile. "Never mind." 

Bakura snorted and shook his head, turning away. He started to go out the door, but something made him hesitate. "Yes. I'll be back for dinner." His voice was little more than a low growl, but Ryou heard it. As Bakura walked down the hallway, he could feel his light's shocked eyes tracking his movements. He snorted again. Ryou would probably still be in shock by the time he got back!

* * *

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Bakura reverently placed the ancient book in front of him. He stroked the leather cover and couldn't stop a small smile from stealing across his face. It was time. Taking a deep breath to steady the nerves that he was surprised to feel fluttering within him, the spirit carefully opened the spellbook. He turned to the first page with writing on it and his eyes eagerly scanned it. 

The page was written entirely in Japanese. 

Shock surged through his system and he felt as though someone was running ice-cubes up and down his spine. "No…" His voice was little more than a whisper as he stared in disbelief at the book. "No!" He dropped his head onto the table as he groaned at his bad luck. "Why couldn't it have been Hieroglyphs? I can read blasted Hieroglyphs!" Sitting up again, Bakura glared at the book as though it were its fault what it was written in. "I knew this was too easy…" He sighed and scowled down at the page of strange letters, already feeling a headache coming on. "Even English would be better than this… but, oh, no! It just had to be the language that's hardest for me to read, didn't it?" 

Sighing, Bakura stared at the page, struggling to make out the letters that seemed to shift before his eyes as though they were living creatures. It took him a few minutes to realise that he was reading an acknowledgments page rather than the index he wanted. 

He scowled down at the page. "Why would anyone write acknowledgments in a Shadow Realm spellbook? 'My deepest gratitude to the Blackland Fire Dragon for not eating me'… What idiot wrote this?" He turned a few more pages and paused on a page with only a few characters on it. The title page, complete with the name of the author. Bakura blinked. "The Dark Magician… That explains a lot." 

Making a mental note to send the Pharaoh's favourite card to the graveyard the next time he had the chance, Bakura leafed through a few more pages until he finally found the index page. His eyes almost crossed as he struggled to make out the writing, which was tiny and cramped and looked as though it had been written with a badly leaking pen. 

"Something about birds, something about… apricots?" Bakura blinked and frowned at that one some more. "Oh. How to turn an apple into an apricot." He moved on to the next one, then paused to consider. "What possible use could that be?" He eyed the book, his doubts growing by the moment. For a powerful book, it had some very strange spells in it…

Continuing down the page, Bakura's eyes soon began to blur and a dull ache throbbed in his head. But he refused to give up! The spells were starting to make sense. "How to protect yourself from Dragon Fire, How to make your hat stand up even when it's wet…" Bakura sighed. Most of the spells were starting to make sense, he silently amended. 

By the time he reached the end of the second index page, his eyes were aching so much that he almost missed seeing the last line. He blinked and peered at the words, then grinned. "How to manifest a spirit as a physical form! That's it!"

Bakura turned to the page eagerly, his eyes gleaming and his tiredness forgotten as he studied the words on the page. The spell was simple enough, except… The spirit winced. "Why did it have to be that kind of spell? He couldn't make it a nice impressive command, could he? No, of course not. Cursed Magicians… they always have to make things as difficult as possible… I bet the Pharaoh put him up to this, just to annoy me…"

Standing up, the spirit quickly glanced around to make sure that he was alone. The last thing he wanted was for his light to see him doing what he was about to do. With a heavy sigh, Bakura began the spell, his eyes straining to see the words and their accompanying instructions. 

First he had to stand on one leg. Then he had to place one hand on his head and the other on his stomach. Then… Wincing because he felt completely ridiculous, Bakura started patting his head and rubbing his stomach. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. The fact that his concentration was divided as he tried to read the words in the spellbook didn't help either.

"Heart without Flesh, Strength without Bone,   
Grant me a physical form of my own.   
Water, Air, Earth and Fire,  
Grant me now my heart's desire.   
To me now thy magic give,   
To know again what it means to live.  
This gift I ask, this price I pay,  
For three dawns hence shall I be this way."

Bakura had just finished speaking the last word when he felt the spell take hold. He winced as a feeling, like thousands of tiny needles pressing into his skin, raced over his body. He felt dizzy and he instinctively put his hand out to steady himself, even though he knew it was no use. Then he felt the table, solid and cool underneath his palm. Opening his eyes, Bakura stared down at his hand, lying flat on the table. The strange feeling faded, but Bakura never even noticed. He was far too preoccupied with admiring his new, and yet familiar, body. 

"It worked!" Throwing back his head, Bakura laughed with pure joy. He had a physical form again! It had been so long! He started for the door, eager to try out his new body. Bakura was in such a hurry that he didn't even stop to close the book. 

* * *

He'd been to the park many times in the past, but always as nothing more than a shadow lurking in Ryou's mind. As he walked across the grass, he relished the feel of the sunshine warm on his pale skin and the cool breeze as it ruffled his long hair. He was enjoying himself so much that it was only a minor irritation that the wind kept blowing his hair into his eyes. 

Pushing his hair out of the way for the fourteenth time, Bakura looked around, wondering what he should do next. A wicked smirk crossed his face as he spied the ducks over near the large pond that was the park's main feature. Perfect. He was in the mood for causing a little mayhem. 

Unfortunately for Bakura, the ducks didn't take kindly to people running at them while waving their arms around and yelling at the top of their voices. Instead of scattering all over the park, as Bakura thought they would, they turned and flew straight for him! Within moments, he was surrounded by a flock of very annoyed ducks. Very annoyed ducks with very sharp beaks, and the will to use them. The ducks pecked at Bakura relentlessly, forcing him to back up. He was so busy trying to fend them off that he didn't see where he was going. He stepped back and gasped as his foot met nothing but empty air. 

*Splash!*

"Ugh… I don't believe it…" Bakura slowly stood up, looking down at himself in disgust as the water cascaded off him and back into the pond. Pulling a face, he delicately picked a strand of waterweed off his sleeve and tossed it away. "First the ducks and now this!" 

Bakura glared at the ducks, which were now calmly going about their business and ignoring him completely. "Stupid creatures," he muttered, wading through the knee-deep water towards the bank. He started to haul himself out of the pond and gasped as he came face to beak with a particularly large duck! Jerking in shock, Bakura lost his grip on the bank and fell back into the pond again. Sitting with the cold water up around his chest, Bakura glared at the duck. The duck glared back at him, as though daring him to try to get past it. 

Bakura dared.

By the time the duck finally lost interest and wandered off, Bakura had fallen into the pond twelve times and been pecked five times because he hadn't been fast enough to get out of the way. He quickly pulled himself out of the water and put as much distance between himself and the malicious ducks as he could. When he finally dared to stop and catch his breath, he glared back at the deceptively peaceful-looking pond. "Cursed creatures. If I hadn't made that stupid promise, I would have sent all of them to the Shadow Realm!"

As he stood glaring at the ducks, the wind blew. It was the same gentle breeze that had teased his hair earlier, but now there was an icy chill to it as it reached Bakura's skin through his wet clothes. He shivered and frowned down at himself. "Blast it! Now I'll have to go home and change." He winced as he noticed the state he was in. "Ryou will never let me forget this…" he muttered, but he knew he had no choice. Bakura hated being cold. With a last angry glare in the direction of the duck pond, he started back home.

While he walked, Bakura went over what he would tell Ryou. He couldn't tell his light the truth. It was bad enough that he'd have to explain the state he was in at all, but it was unthinkable for him to admit that he'd been made a fool of by a fat duck! He was so busy planning out his story that he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to where he was. By the time he finally began to notice his surroundings, it was too late. He'd taken a wrong turn and was now in a part of the city that he didn't recognise.

"What? Where…? Oh, this is getting ridiculous!" Turning around, Bakura started to retrace his steps. Or rather, he tried to. It didn't take him long to realise that he must have made quite a few turns while he'd been distracted. He couldn't find his way back! 

As he wandered the streets, searching for something he recognised, Bakura began to get a little worried. He was in a part of the city where the buildings cast shadows onto the streets, so there was no sunlight to counter the biting wind. He was freezing cold and his shivering was getting worse. His throat was starting to hurt too. Even worse though, at least as far as he was concerned, Ryou's image kept popping into his mind. He could imagine all too clearly his light's reaction if he ever learned of this. Ryou would be fussing over Bakura for weeks! 

The thought brought a small smile to Bakura's face. Even though he normally hated it when Ryou fussed, he had to admit that right now he'd gladly put up with it, as long as it meant that he was warm and dry again! 

His smile faded as a particularly strong breeze caused him to shiver violently. He stopped in his tracks and sighed. "This is getting me nowhere…" He winced as the words hurt his throat. He was cold, he was wet, his throat hurt and his wet sneakers were hurting his feet. He didn't care if the Pharaoh did see him. He knew the way home from the game shop. He was using the Ring! It would guide him to Yugi and Yugi would be at the game shop. Bakura paused to consider that and looked up, noting with considerable surprise, and more than a little shock, just how late it was. It was almost dark! He sighed. He was going to be late for dinner. Still, at least Yugi would definitely be at the game shop!

Bakura reached for the Ring. His hand met nothing but his wet sweater! Gasping in shock, Bakura looked down. The Ring! It was gone! "No!" He patted his chest desperately, thinking that it had just moved from its usual position. But it simply wasn't there!

Bakura fought against the surge of panic rising within him. He needed to think! Could he have lost it somewhere? No, surely he would have noticed! When had he seen it last? With shock, he remembered it catching his eye as he spoke the spell to give himself a physical form. Had he noticed it since? No. 

Bakura leaned against a nearby wall and closed his eyes as a nasty suspicion loomed in his mind. The Ring that he usually wore was nothing but a shadow of the real one, just as he was a shadow of the true Ring's guardian, Ryou. Although his Ring looked real, and even felt real to him, it was merely the Shadow Magic of the real Ring, given form in the same way as Bakura himself. There could only be one Millennium Ring, and Ryou had it. Bakura had assumed that he would keep the shadow Ring, even with a physical form, but what if he'd been wrong? 

"Curses." Bakura sighed and ran a hand through his thick white hair. "Oh well, what's done is done. No sense in wishing for anything different. I'll just have to do this the hard way, that's all."

Bakura closed his eyes, confident that he would still be able to call on the Shadow Magic. It would be easier if he hadn't left his cards behind, but he could call the Shadow Monsters forth without them, if he really needed to. It would drain his power considerably, but he could live with that. 

He frowned as the familiar tingle of power didn't come as it always did. He tried again, picturing the Mammoth Graveyard card clearly in his mind. It wasn't a card he, or Ryou for that matter, used very often, but they had it so it would respond to his call. At least, it should respond… The truth struck him like a physical blow and Bakura staggered back, hitting the wall behind him. He slowly slid down to the ground, eyes wide in shock. The Shadow Magic that should have been within him was completely gone! There was only one explanation, and Bakura didn't like it one bit.

"Oh Ra… That blasted spell… It didn't just give me a physical form. It made me powerless!"

* * *

Ryou looked up at the kitchen clock for the tenth time that minute and then looked outside again at the gathering night. He was worried. "Bakura should have been home by now." His voice was barely a whisper; he spoke solely to ease the silence. He'd been doing that a lot ever since Bakura had left. Ryou just wasn't used to being alone anymore. A shiver passed through his slender form and he hugged himself slightly. Something was wrong. He could feel it. But it was how he was feeling it that was part of the problem.

Usually, there was a link between Ryou and his yami. What one felt, the other often felt too. They could, if they wished to, share their thoughts and feelings with each other, although Bakura usually kept his side of the link closed unless he wanted to speak to Ryou without the others hearing him. But even when Bakura had it closed, Ryou was never completely closed out of Bakura's mind. He didn't think Bakura knew just how strong their link was. It was strong enough that Ryou could always feel something of Bakura's thoughts and feelings, even when Bakura didn't want him to. But for the past few hours, Ryou had been unable to sense his darker half at all!

He'd been worried about it, at first. But then he'd seen the spellbook lying open on the kitchen table. He hadn't been able to resist looking at the spell Bakura had used on himself. Then he'd understood. Ryou was still surprised that Bakura would choose that particular spell though. 

With their mind-link gone, Ryou knew that he shouldn't be able to feel anything from Bakura. He'd studied and made dinner as though everything were perfectly normal. He'd thought about Bakura, certainly, but he hadn't sensed anything. In the past half-hour though, Ryou had felt strangely unsettled. Bakura's image kept appearing in his mind, only it wasn't Bakura as Ryou was used to seeing him. This was a wet, muddy and shivering version. 

Ryou frowned slightly as the image came to him again. "Poor Bakura… he looks so cold. I really don't like this." He glanced over at the huge spellbook, hesitating before he started reading carefully through the spell. He'd only read the first part of it earlier. First he'd been laughing too hard over the incantation and instructions, then he'd been too stunned by the knowledge of what the spell did. He hadn't read any further than that. Now, he did.

"'For three dawns shall the spellcaster be mortal, but for this a price must be paid. For this duration, the spellcaster will be without the use of the Shadow Magic within him. The use of his power shall return only when his usual form is restored. The power itself will remain locked within him, though. In a time of danger, or of desperate need, the power may activate on its own to see the spellcaster safe from all harm.' Danger or desperate need? Could that be why…? The image in my mind… Oh no… Bakura!" Ryou started for the door, but came to his senses. "Oh, I don't know where he is!" 

The boy thought for a moment, his eyes scanning the room in search of inspiration. They paused on the spellbook. Hesitantly, sure that Bakura would not like it if he ever found out, Ryou turned to the index page. Within moments he had found what he was looking for. He read the spell through carefully, twice, making sure it was the right one, then took a deep breath to gather his courage. Standing back from the table, he lightly grasped the Millennium Ring that hung, as always, around his neck. Closing his eyes, Ryou recited the simple spell.

"Weak to strong, strong to weak,  
Guide me to the one I seek."

Ryou opened his eyes, feeling the Ring tugging him in the direction he needed to go. Without hesitation, he followed it. 

* * *

"Bakura!" 

Bakura scowled and kept his head down as he walked. Now he was hearing things! There was no way that could really be… He jumped when a hand lightly touched his shoulder. Whirling around, Bakura brought his fists up, ready to punch whoever dared touch him. He froze in shock when his eyes met the wide, worried eyes of his light. 

"R…Ryou?" he cursed the uncertain whisper that escaped him. The next moment, he gasped in shock as Ryou flung himself forward and hugged him tightly. Bakura couldn't help closing his eyes in relief at the sudden warmth. He knew he should pull away, and he would… in another moment… or two… Ryou pulled away slightly and Bakura shivered as the warmth was replaced by the cold wind again. He blinked at his light. His light smiled gently at him. "I… got lost…" He wasn't sure what made him admit it.

Ryou nodded. "I know. Come on, let's go home." He smiled. "Dinner's ready." Ryou slipped his arm through Bakura's, the sudden warmth making Bakura reluctant to pull away like he normally would have. Instead, he quietly followed his light's lead. 

They walked for a while in silence, then, "Bakura… how did you get so wet, anyway?"

Bakura sighed. He'd been so focused on how cold he was that he'd completely forgotten the excuse he'd come up with. "Some cursed ducks chased me into a pond." He glared at his light as Ryou made a sound suspiciously like a strangled chuckle. "Don't you dare laugh." Ryou nodded, the sound coming again, and Bakura's glare intensified. "I mean it, Ryou!" 

Ryou's only response was a swift squeeze of the arm he was holding and a teasing glance that made Bakura sigh. He sighed again when his light burst out laughing. "I knew it… you're never going to let me forget this, are you?" Ryou squeezed his arm again, his brown eyes dancing with laughter. 

Bakura sighed. The trouble with the spellbook, the spell that hadn't done what he'd wanted after all, ducks, ponds, losing his way. "What else could possibly go wrong today?" he muttered to himself.

Then he sneezed. Twice. 

Ryou's laughter faded and he looked anxiously at his yami. "Sounds like you've caught a cold." 

"I had to ask…"

To Be Continued…


	3. Restless

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 3: Restless  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou bustled around the bathroom, filling the bathtub and getting together everything that he thought Bakura would need for his nice, hot bath. It had taken some work on Ryou's part, but he'd finally convinced his half-frozen yami that a bath would be the quickest and easiest way for him to warm up again. 

Bakura watched in silence as his light ran the water. He blinked, but made no comment, as his light then proceeded to pop in and out of the room with an assortment of items. He found it extremely difficult to keep quiet about three of them in particular, but he managed because his light seemed to be happy fussing about. But when Ryou came in with the seventh item, Bakura knew it was time for him to curb his light's enthusiasm. 

"Ryou, I didn't say a word about the stack of towels, or the bathrobe, or the hairdryer. I even kept quiet about the pajamas, the underwear, and the slippers. But I draw the line at the rubber duck." He glared at the offending object. If he never saw another duck again, it would be too soon!

Ryou paused as he crossed the room. He blinked at Bakura as though he'd forgotten that he was there, then blinked down at the small yellow toy in his hand. "Oh... Right... Sorry about that... Force of habit." Smiling sheepishly at his yami, he moved it out of sight behind his back. 

"Force of..." Bakura stared at his light in shock, "Never mind! I don't want to know!" As a tide of red rushed into Ryou's cheeks, Bakura made a mental note to never, ever, take over Ryou's body while he was in the bath. 

There was a moment of awkward silence as Ryou tried, and failed, to regain his composure. Unable to look at his yami, he hurried over to the bath and breathed a sigh of relief. "The water's ready! I'll just add some..." He reached for a bottle of pink liquid standing on the shelf above the bath, beside the soap. He squeaked in surprise when a hand grabbed his in mid-reach. 

"Don't even think about it. I do **not** want that prissy stuff in my bath!"

Ryou dared a quick glance up into his yami's face. Bakura scowled at him and Ryou responded with a small, nervous smile. "Um... right..." He glanced down at where Bakura was still holding on to him. "Um..." Bakura noticed the look and quickly released Ryou's hand. He turned away, silently cursing the heat he could feel in his face. 

He heard Ryou's light steps moving from the bath to the door. "All right, I'll finish getting dinner ready while you have your bath. Don't get out until you're completely warm, but don't stay in once the water gets too cool. Oh, and make sure that you dress warmly before you leave the room, even if you don't think it's cold enough. The bathroom will feel a lot warmer than the rest of the house because of the steam. You already have a cold, you don't want it to get worse!" 

Bakura turned to scowl at his fussy light. "I'll be fine! Just go!" Ryou blushed again and nodded swiftly before hurrying out of the room. 

The bathroom door closed with a soft click and Bakura sighed. "About time. All his fussing's given me a headache," he mumbled to himself as he headed for the bath. "Ryou had better be right about this warming me up." He'd stopped shivering once they'd reached the house, but he still felt cold. 

Thinking very uncharitable thoughts about ducks in general, and pond guarding ducks in particular, Bakura stripped off his soggy clothes and stepped into the water. Closing his eyes in pleasure, he sighed softly and sank down into the liquid heat. "Ahh… that's more like it…" 

Opening his eyes again, he reached lazily for the soap. The pond water hadn't been the cleanest and Bakura wasn't overly fond of mud. The warmth of the water was starting to make him feel very relaxed. He rubbed the soap idly over his skin, closing his eyes again as he laid his head back against the rim of the bathtub. 

He smiled slightly as a pleasant flowery scent wafted around him. "Mmm… Nice perfume… Wait a minute…" Bakura's eyes snapped open and he frowned as he looked around. Why would Ryou keep perfume in his bathroom? Not seeing anything that could cause the scent, Bakura distractedly resumed soaping himself up. The scent immediately caught his nose again. Bakura blinked and then stared at the soap in his hand, a look of horror dawning on his face. Hesitantly, he sniffed the innocent-looking white soap. 

"Ryou!!!" Bakura's howl rang through the house. 

* * *

An hour later, Bakura made his way down the stairs to the lower level of the house. He was warm, he was dry, he was clean, and he was still scowling and muttering to himself. "I smell like a girl… Why didn't Ryou warn me about that cursed soap? Why does he even have that cursed soap? Oh Ra… don't tell me he actually uses it!" The thought made him stop in his tracks, his eyes wide with shock as he renewed his mental warning to himself to never, ever, take over Ryou's body when his light was having a bath. Shivering slightly, only this time not from cold, Bakura continued down the stairs.

He stopped again in the hallway outside the kitchen, this time pausing to listen to the strange sound coming from within. It took him a moment to recognise it. His light was humming! It was a happy little tune that made Bakura's lips twitch instinctively into a smile before he realised what was happening. He immediately schooled his expression into its usual sneer, then started for the door. 

He stopped on the threshold, stunned by the sight that met his eyes. Ryou wasn't just humming, he was dancing! As Bakura looked on in amazement, his light moved gracefully from one side of the kitchen to the other with a swaying, hip-wriggling motion that made Bakura make another mental note. He would never allow Ryou anywhere near anyone else's kitchen. Or this kitchen, if anyone else was around, for that matter. 

He would have said something to let Ryou know he was there, but he told himself that it would be far more embarrassing for Ryou if he didn't. The fact that he was enjoying the show had nothing to do with it. Leaning against the door, Bakura silently watched his light wriggle around the room.

* * *

Ryou was enjoying a rare moment of peace as he did one of the things that he loved to do - cooking. Bakura was not yelling in his mind or getting them both into trouble, but was safe and sound in another part of the house. Dinner was almost ready and the table was already set, so the only things left to do were wait for Bakura and finish preparing dessert. Ryou was happy. He didn't often feel like humming, but the mood had struck so he was going with it. He also didn't often feel like dancing, but the tune that was running through his mind had too good a beat to resist. So he hummed and moved in time to the music. 

He put the dessert in the freezer and went to close the door, half turning as he did so. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of someone standing in the doorway. Ryou stumbled in mid-step, embarrassment heating his cheeks as he slowly turned to face his amused yami. "Um… how long have you been standing there?" he asked hesitantly, not sure that he really wanted to know the answer.

Bakura smirked. "Long enough to know that I either haven't heard that song, or you can't keep the tune straight." His eyes flicked over Ryou and his smile abruptly turned into a scowl. "What are you wearing?" 

Ryou blinked and looked down at himself, puzzled by his yami's reaction. He was dressed in the same clothes he'd been wearing all day, except for… Looking up he pulled on a corner of his apron. "Do you mean this?" 

Bakura's scowl deepened. "Yes, I mean that… thing… What is it? It looks… silly." He practically snarled the word as he glared at the white apron.

"No it doesn't!" Ryou crossed his arms defensively and frowned at his yami. "It's called an apron. Cooking can be very messy, so people wear them to keep their clothes clean. They serve a very useful purpose and I happen to like this one." 

"You would." Bakura snorted. Ryou's normally wide eyes narrowed slightly as he studied his yami.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Inwardly, he sighed. His yami was obviously displeased about something. Surely he wasn't still upset about the soap?

"It means that you have horrible taste in clothes." 

Ryou blinked and stared at his yami in shock. "Well… that was certainly unexpected. Um…" He blinked again, completely at a loss for words for a moment. "You… haven't mentioned that before… Is there a reason why it suddenly… bothers you?"

Bakura straightened up from his leaning stance in the doorway and moved into the room until he was standing a few feet away from his light. He crossed his arms, realised that he was standing in the same position as Ryou, scowled, uncrossed his arms, fidgeted for a moment and then re-crossed them with a defiant glare at Ryou, silently daring him to comment on it. A dare that Ryou wisely did not accept. "I haven't been inconvenienced by it before," he finally answered.

Ryou blinked again, now completely lost. "Inconvenienced?" 

His yami sighed and uncrossed his arms, spreading them wide and then indicating his outfit. "Look at me." Ryou looked, unsure exactly what he was supposed to be looking at. 

Bakura was dressed nice and warmly, just as Ryou had instructed. That in itself was a miracle. The fact that Bakura had actually listened to his light… Surely that had to be worthy of a mention in a record book somewhere? Ryou had a feeling that wasn't what Bakura meant though, so he studied his yami's outfit carefully. His spare pair of pajamas, his cosy bathrobe, his warmest pair of slippers… Ryou was no nearer to understanding the problem. "You look fine to me, what's wrong?" 

"Just look at these pajamas. They have clouds on them. Fluffy clouds. And they have buttons. Tiny, fiddly, buttons. Not a zipper or buckle in sight! And do I honestly look like someone who would wear flannel pajamas? Or pajamas at all for that matter!" Ryou blinked at that, but Bakura was on a roll and didn't allow his light to get a word in. 

"As for these things…" he pointed at the pale blue furry slippers on his feet and gave Ryou a glare. "It took me a while to realise that they were slippers and not some sort of Shadow Monster!" He frowned down at them and added in a mutter, "I'm still not sure they're not related to those cursed Kuriboh… I wouldn't put it past the Pharaoh to have summoned them deliberately just to annoy me…" Bakura glared at Ryou as the boy made a sound suspiciously like a strangled chuckle. 

"Then there's the instrument of torture you call 'underwear'…" 

"What was wrong with…?"

"White cotton boxers? Oh please." Bakura rolled his eyes and drew nearer to his light, pleased to note that the boy edged away warily. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear. Black. Briefs. If I really have to." Bakura almost smiled at the wide-eyed look his light gave him. There was no trace of laughter on Ryou's face now. Only shock, with some panic thrown in for good measure.

"You… you mean…" Bakura raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh. Oh my," Ryou said faintly, suddenly feeling the need to lean back against the kitchen counter for support as heat flooded his cheeks. He swallowed and eyed his yami nervously, making a mental note to never, ever, allow Bakura to take control of his form when he was dressing. Although… it certainly explained a few things that had happened in the past, including... His eyes narrowed and he straightened.

"You're the reason why my underwear keeps vanishing every time I do laundry, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bakura replied smoothly. A little too smoothly, it seemed to Ryou. He kept frowning at his yami. 

Bakura tried to maintain his usual slightly bored expression, but he found his light's scrutiny more than a little unnerving. When the oven began beeping softly, he was only too happy to latch onto the excuse. "Are you going to stop that annoying noise, or do I have to break something?"

Ryou sighed and turned to the oven, knowing that was as much of an admission of guilt as he was likely to get from his incorrigible yami. "Just don't do it again, please. I've had to buy so many replacements lately that the shop assistants now give me very odd looks every time I go in there. Now, go and sit down. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." 

* * *

The food was good, but Bakura knew he would have enjoyed it more if he hadn't needed to swallow it. He hadn't noticed how sore his throat was until he'd started eating. He also didn't really feel like eating all that much. He spent most of the meal silently pushing his food around on his plate, so it looked like he was eating more than he really was. He knew he'd failed when Ryou put his knife and fork down, looked at him seriously and said softly, "You don't have to eat it, if you don't like it." 

Bakura looked down at his plate, uncomfortably aware of the disappointment in his light's voice. He had the sudden urge to explain and, even though he tried to ignore the feeling, it persisted until he finally blurted out, "I do. Like it, I mean. I'm just… not that hungry." 

It wasn't a lie; it just wasn't the complete truth. To prove it though, he deliberately took a bite of what Ryou had called a 'chicken casserole'. Whatever that was. It was tasty, but he almost choked at the pain it caused going down his throat. He quickly took a sip of water. It hurt too, but it also seemed to ease the pain slightly. Looking up, he tried to cover his pain with his usual confident smirk. He wasn't entirely sure he'd succeeded. "See? It's fine." 

Ryou had been growing increasingly worried about his yami throughout the meal. He knew something was wrong, but he hadn't been able to figure out what. Bakura's reaction over his last mouthful had given him a clue though. Standing up, he started clearing their plates away. 

Bakura blinked and frowned. "Ryou… You didn't finish eating." He sent his light a suspicious glance. Ryou responded with a gentle smile.

"I'm not really hungry either. Besides, I want to leave room for dessert. I think you'll like it." He felt his yami watching him warily as he got it ready. When he placed the bowl of ice cream in front of Bakura, he couldn't resist saying softly, "It should soothe your sore throat." Bakura's gasp was all the confirmation he needed.

"How did you…?" Bakura looked uncomfortable. Ryou just smiled and ate a spoonful of ice cream, raising an eyebrow in teasing challenge for his yami to do the same.

Despite the dare, Bakura hesitated before swallowing a mouthful of the creamy homemade dessert. He'd never had it before so he wasn't sure what Ryou had meant about it being soothing. It was cold and sweet, and it numbed his whole throat as it slipped down. His eyes lit up and he blinked down at the bowl in surprise. He cautiously ate another spoonful before a slight smile settled on his face. 

The two boys polished off their desserts in contented silence. When they were done, Ryou glanced over at Bakura, noticing how pale and tired his yami looked. Not that he'd ever tell him so, of course. He knew better than that. Instead, he stretched and faked a yawn convincing enough to get Bakura yawning as well. 

"I think I'll leave the dishes until tomorrow and have an early night. It's been a long day and I have that math test tomorrow. I need a good night's sleep." Ryou smiled at his yami. He didn't need to worry about Bakura detecting his lie, because he wasn't lying. He really did want an early night. "How about you? I made up the guest room earlier so it's ready whenever you are." 

Bakura blinked and went suddenly still. He seemed about to say something when he bit his lip and looked down at the table. After a few moments, he nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'll do the same. No sense in my staying up. The sooner I go to sleep, the sooner I'll be another night closer to having my magic back." 

He scowled at the thought, deliberately focusing on it rather than on the sudden realisation that this would be the first night since Ryou had gained the Millennium Ring that they wouldn't be together. Somehow, their having separate forms didn't seem like such a good idea in the dark of night as it had in the bright light of day. It wasn't that he was afraid of being alone, he told himself, it was just that he wasn't used to it. Not anymore. 

As he followed Ryou up the stairs, Bakura wondered when he'd become so comfortable with sharing a life with the one he had so often called 'weak', 'pathetic' or 'naïve'. 

* * *

"Ryou! Enough! You're making me dizzy with all this pillow fluffing and if you pull the covers any more around me, I won't be able to breathe! Stop fussing already!" Bakura glared at his light as best he could, considering that he was lying down with more types of bedclothes than he recognised tucked up around him. He could barely see Ryou over the top of all the covers piled on him. 

Ryou smiled sheepishly and gave the top cover one last pat before backing away towards the door. "All right, Bakura. I'll go now. Remember, if you need anything, I'm just down the hall. I'll leave both our doors open, so I'll hear you if you call out." At Bakura's silent glare, he hurriedly stepped out the door before giving his yami a little wave. "Goodnight, Bakura. Sweet dreams!" He ducked out of sight as Bakura's low growl echoed through the room. 

Bakura sighed and closed his eyes. His light was apparently very fond of fussing, especially when it came to fussing over him. It was enough to drive a yami insane. Or, in his case, make him give serious consideration to never casting this particular spell on himself ever again. At least when he and Ryou were in the same body, Ryou wasn't able to fuss over him! With a frustrated sigh, Bakura drifted off into restless sleep.

* * *

Ryou stirred and slowly opened his eyes, blinking sleepily at the sunlight streaming in through his window. Yawning, he stretched and snuggled back into his warm bed. He was exhausted. What little sleep he'd gained had been restless. He'd been conscious all night of the fact that his yami was not asleep in his soul room. He'd never realised before just how comforting the knowledge of his other half's nearness was. But even though Bakura had not been within his mind, he had still made his presence felt during the night. Ryou had lost track of the number of times he'd needed to check on him, but he knew he'd spent more time looking after his yami than he had spent sleeping.

As if the thought had been a signal, Ryou heard his yami coughing again. He'd started around midnight and had been so bad at one point that Ryou had resorted to desperate measures. He'd given his yami a dose of cough mixture. Or 'that cursed stuff that looks like something a Zombie Clown would throw at you, smells like the Dark Sage and tastes worse than Joey's cooking', as Bakura had put it. There was a good chance that Bakura would never talk to him again because of it, but it was a small price to pay. At least it had eased the coughing enough for them both to get some much-needed sleep. By the sound of it though, the cough mixture had now worn off. 

Ryou automatically turned to look at his clock to see if it was time for another dose. His eyes widened in shock. 

"Oh no! I'm going to be late for school!" 

* * *

After scrambling to get ready as quickly as possible, Ryou went to check on Bakura. Despite his hurry, he couldn't bear to leave without making sure that his yami would be all right by himself. 

The first thing he noticed was the slight flush on Bakura's cheeks. His second observation was the fact that the covers were now lying in a heap on the floor. Putting them both together, Ryou immediately dropped his school bag and hurried across the room. Leaning over his yami, the boy lightly touched the back of his hand to Bakura's forehead. He let out the breath he'd been holding. 

"What was the sigh for?" Bakura's voice was even huskier than usual, gravelly with both a sore throat and tiredness from his restless night. He hadn't slept any better than his light. In fact, he was so tired that he didn't even have the strength to bat Ryou's hand away. 

Ryou smiled slightly at his grumpy yami. "I was relieved. You have a temperature, but it's only slight. I was afraid it might be more serious." He started collecting the covers off the floor, replacing a few of them. 

"Hey! I kicked them off because I was hot! Now you're putting them back on again?" Bakura scowled at his fussing light, annoyed that his voice came out whining rather than commanding.

"I'm only putting the lightest ones back on. You need to stay warm or you could end up getting very sick." Ryou glanced at his yami and smiled wryly. "I'm sure you don't want that any more than I do!" Bakura snorted and looked away, but didn't comment as Ryou finished tucking the covers around him again. 

Ryou stood there for a moment, thinking. He really didn't want to leave Bakura when he wasn't well, but the math test scheduled for that day was the main one for the semester and he'd be in big trouble if he missed it. The only reason his father allowed him to remain home alone while he was away on his frequent trips was because Ryou had promised to keep up his grades. The last thing he wanted was for his father to decide that he needed to arrange for a baby-sitter. Ryou shuddered at the thought. He'd put up with that for years. Never again! But one look at his ill yami was enough to make him question his priorities. 

Bakura could tell his light was worried about something by the way he was unconsciously biting his lip. He'd also noticed that Ryou had been carrying his school bag when he'd come into the room. That reminded him… "Don't you have a math test today?" 

"Yes… but I'm sure the teacher will let me take it another day." Ryou smiled reassuringly, but he didn't fool his sharp-eyed yami for a moment.

"You're a hopeless liar, Ryou. Get going." When Ryou didn't move, Bakura scowled at him. "If you're worried about me, don't be! I can take care of myself!" He was pleased that his voice only wavered a little. Hopefully his light wouldn't even notice. 

Ryou shook his head, not looking convinced. "You can barely even talk today." 

Bakura winced. His light had noticed. "Look, I'll be fine! Really! I'll just spend the day lying here, catching up on my sleep. I don't need to talk to do that." His yawn was only partly faked. He really was tired. 

Ryou wavered. "Well… I really should go… If you're sure that you'll be all right…?" 

"I'm sure. Now will you get out of here already! I want to get some sleep." Bakura closed his eyes, his ears straining to hear if his light was moving or not. He caught Ryou's soft chuckle just before a gentle hand lightly brushed the hair off his face. 

"Very well Bakura, I'll go. But I'll leave the number for the school beside the phone downstairs. I want you to promise me that you'll use it if you start feeling worse!" 

"If that's what it will take to get you to stop fussing, then fine! I promise! Now go!" 

When Ryou finally left, Bakura sighed and closed his eyes. "About time… maybe now I can get some sleep… Dratted light… always fussing…"

* * *

Ryou stumbled slightly as he came in the back door and into the kitchen. His schoolbag fell ignored to the floor as he leaned against the counter to wait for the dizziness to pass. He was so tired… After a few moments, the room finally stopped spinning enough for him to start across the room.

"Bakura! I'm home!"

Upstairs, Bakura stirred as he heard his light's voice. He frowned in confusion. Surely it couldn't be that late in the day already? He'd gotten a little sleep, but he was certain that it hadn't been much. He would never admit it to Ryou, but he just didn't sleep well when his light wasn't near. 

When Ryou looked in on him, Bakura greeted him with a scowl. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you still be at school?" 

Ryou smiled weakly and leaned against the door. "Miss Weatherby sent me home." 

Bakura's eyebrows raised so high they vanished into his hair. "Isn't she the one that looks like Gearfried the Iron Knight? The one that never smiles and wouldn't recognise a joke if it bit her on the…"

"Yes, that's Miss Weatherby," Ryou interrupted with a frown, "Although I think you've been around Joey and Tristan a little too much lately. She's actually rather nice."

Bakura waved his light's protest aside, having just caught the meaning of Ryou's earlier comment. "Never mind that, what do you mean, she sent you home? Why? What happened? Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?" He struggled to sit up, silently cursing the way Ryou had tucked him in earlier that morning. It was hard to move when tightly tucked blankets had you pinned to the bed. 

Ryou smiled gently. Bakura blinked and grew still. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"I'm not used to seeing you worried about me, that's all." Ryou shrugged slightly and slowly crossed the room, aware that his yami was closely watching him. "I'm all right. Just tired. Miss Weatherby saw me come in late and she saw how I could barely concentrate during the exam. When the lunch bell rang, she told me to come home and get some sleep."

Bakura frowned at his light. "What aren't you telling me? That doesn't seem like enough reason for a teacher to send you home." 

Ryou shrugged and a faint blush rose into his cheeks. "Well… I think my falling asleep during the math exam might have had something to do with it…" he finally admitted. Bakura stared at him in shock and Ryou's blush deepened. "Oh, don't worry, I'd finished the exam. There was still half an hour to go though so I thought I'd just close my eyes for a few minutes. The next thing I knew, Miss Weatherby was shaking me to let me know that the exam was over." He smiled sheepishly at his yami. "I think she felt sorry for me. She also seemed to think that I was ill. She said that I looked pale..."

Bakura snorted. "You always look pale." But he had to admit, his light was looking more fragile than usual. Lack of sleep always had that effect on him. 

Ryou smiled slightly. "But at least it proved useful today. I got to come home early." He studied Bakura closely. "Although it looks like I needn't have been so worried. You're looking a lot better."

"Yeah, well, I've just been lying here the whole time. I guess it helped."

"You didn't sleep?" Ryou frowned slightly as he sat down on the side of the bed. 

"Not really. Too restless." Not in five thousand years would Bakura admit to his light that he hadn't been able to sleep because Ryou wasn't there. He was barely able to admit it to himself. 

"Oh. Well, maybe you'll be able to rest after lunch. I'll go make you some sandwiches." Ryou started to get up, but Bakura's hand shot out and grabbed his arm. It was hard to tell which of the two boys was the more surprised by the unexpected move. "Bakura?"

"I'm not hungry." Realising that he was still holding on to his light, Bakura released his grip and tried to ignore the heat he could feel rising up his neck. "But you're exhausted. Stop trying to hide it. You never were good at that sort of thing." He scowled at Ryou, his frown deepening when the boy blushed guiltily in response. "Go take a nap or something. You're worse than useless when you're tired." 

Ryou blinked and then smiled slightly, recognising his yami's concern even though Bakura tried to hide it with insults and an even harsher tone of voice than usual. He shook his head. "I'd only end up tossing and turning again. It's too strange not having you grumbling in your soul room."

"I don't grumble! Even if I did, how in the Shadows could you hear me all the way from your soul room?" Bakura protested, but then he blinked. Had his light just admitted to not being able to sleep while they were separated? 

Ryou didn't seem to notice his yami's sudden distraction. "Yes, you do. I can hear you every night, muttering about whatever happened that day that you didn't like. Especially if we've seen Yugi or Yami. You don't always grumble though. Sometimes you rant. Loudly." 

Bakura scowled at him, the last part of his light's words catching his attention despite his mind still dwelling over Ryou's earlier comment. "If I do, it must be because the Pharaoh did something annoying."

"You find everything Yami does to be annoying. Even his existing annoys you," Ryou felt obliged to point out.

"He was supposed to have given up his life and soul to save all Egypt from the dangerous Shadow Realm. There were celebrations to honour his sacrifice. They went on for weeks. You couldn't walk down the street without hearing his name at least a dozen times. They had his profile etched into every pyramid, tablet, statue and monument. It was nauseating. You couldn't miss seeing that hair. Then I find out that he just put himself in that cursed puzzle! Of course I find that annoying!" Bakura scowled at his light. 

Ryou turned away to hide his smile. He started for the door, knowing that Bakura would just continue to work himself up into a rant if he had an audience. If there was no one to listen… well, Bakura would still rant, but he wouldn't get as fired up over it. Maybe. 

"Where are you going?" Bakura demanded petulantly and Ryou sighed inwardly. He'd been so close… Another few steps and he would have been safely out the door…

"I thought I'd go downstairs and get something to eat. Maybe watch a little television," Ryou added as the enticing thought came to him. He didn't watch it very often, but if he could find something relaxing… He really didn't feel up to doing anything very strenuous. 

The bed creaked behind him, then again, accompanied by Bakura muttering curses under his breath. Ryou turned to see what his yami was doing and had to bite his lip to stifle his laughter. He didn't quite succeed. 

Bakura stopped struggling with the bedclothes and glared at his light. "It's not funny! You've wrapped me up tighter than a mummy! Get me out of this before I destroy something! If I had my magic, these cursed things would already be taking up space in the Shadow Realm!" 

"Going somewhere?" Ryou asked mildly as he began to pull the covers free. 

"Downstairs. I'm tired of lying down. It's boring." He glanced at his light out of the corner of his eye. "That television thing… Any good movies on?"

Ryou shook his head and smiled wryly at his less-than-subtle yami. "It depends on your definition of 'good'. If it's the same as mine, probably. If it's the same as Tristan and Joey's, and considering the look you're giving me it is, then no. Those kind of movies are usually only on at night. Very late at night. And before you ask, no, I do not have any on video." 

Bakura scowled as Ryou gave him the 'you really should be ashamed of yourself to even consider it' look that always made him feel about three inches tall. His light really could be disgustingly prim and proper sometimes. 

"Whatever, as long as I don't have to watch any of those stupid kiddy shows you like so much." 

Bakura pulled a face, remembering all too well the last time Ryou had slept over at Yugi's. The two lights had spent most of the night watching anime videos. Children's anime videos. There hadn't even been any decent fighting, dueling or injuries in them! 

Ryou smiled. "I promise I won't make you watch anything with cute or cuddly animals in it." 

Bakura nodded grudgingly. "Yeah, that should cover it." He followed his light out of the room.

* * *

He woke, but kept his eyes closed as he tried to work out where he was. He was sitting up, which wasn't unusual. He'd slept in some pretty odd places and positions in his lifetime. And since. But it was unusual for him to feel so… content. There was something soft underneath and behind him, supporting his back. Something warm and soft and fluffy was wrapped around him. He could feel it across his chest, down over his lap and around his legs. Bakura had a vague memory of Ryou tucking a blanket around him at one point. That had to be it. But the blanket wasn't the reason why he felt so comfortable.

There was something warm pressed against his side and a slight weight rested on his shoulder. There was something familiar about the sensation, and yet he was sure that he had never felt it before. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Bakura looked down at his light; an odd sensation curling around his heart just like Ryou was curled up against him. The boy had pulled his legs up on the couch and was half sitting/half lying against Bakura's side. His head rested on his yami's shoulder, his white hair tumbling down over his face as he slept. His breaths came in the slow, even rhythm of deep sleep. The blanket was wrapped around Ryou as well, so he was in a warm, safe little cocoon as he snuggled against his yami's side.

For a moment, Bakura forgot to breathe. It had been a long time since he'd watched his light sleep like this. Usually he only went into Ryou's soul room if he needed to wake him, or yell at him. But seeing him like this… The memories flooded back and his arm, already lying around Ryou's shoulders, tightened slightly, protectively. 

For a long moment, Bakura simply watched his light sleep. He thought about how restless they had been while apart, and how easily and deeply they had slept when together again. 

They'd eaten lunch and had started watching a movie, but Ryou had stayed awake for only a few minutes of it. Bakura knew he must have fallen asleep not long after. He remembered they had awoken when it started getting cold, just long enough for Ryou to fetch the blanket. Neither of them had been completely awake, and he couldn't help but think that had been a good thing. 

He could tell by the faint light starting to seep in around the edges of the closed curtains on the other side of the room that it was shortly after dawn. They would never have slept so long, or so well, if they had been in their separate rooms, and Bakura had to admit to himself that he would never have consciously chosen to remain down here with Ryou. 

Bakura sighed softly as he gazed down at his innocent light, sleeping so trustingly at his side. How was it that one boy - one weak, pathetic, human boy - could bring out both the worst, and the best, in him so easily? Although Ryou claimed that Bakura was the one with all the power, at times like this, Bakura wondered if that were really true. It seemed to him that his light was very powerful. 

Ryou had the power to make Bakura feel. 

His arm tightened a little more, a light hug that would be released as soon as his light showed signs of waking. It would never do for Ryou to know exactly how much he meant to Bakura. 

Bakura relaxed into the comfort of the couch, the warmth of the blanket and his light's nearness. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift back into sleep, the slightest of smiles on his face.

Maybe being human wasn't so bad after all.

To be continued…


	4. A Normal Life

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 4: A Normal Life  
By Shadow's Mirror

Bakura hated being human. He hated not having his magic. He especially hated not being able to go back to his soulroom whenever something embarrassing happened. If he'd been a spirit, he would have been in his soul room for most of the morning.

It had been fine when he'd woken up to find Ryou curled up against him on the couch. He hadn't minded it. A small corner of his mind had even acknowledged the fact that it felt rather nice. But then his pathetic human body had fallen asleep again. When he'd woken, he'd been shocked to find that he was the one doing the cuddling! He still couldn't believe that he'd ended up with his head against Ryou's shoulder. But worse still had been the fact that Ryou had been awake, watching him with that irritatingly knowing and infuriatingly gentle little smile of his. It had taken all of his pride just to get up and stalk out of the room.

As if that hadn't been bad enough, there had been the incident with the exploding toaster.

Bakura still wasn't sure exactly what had happened. He'd only turned the cursed thing on! All right, he silently conceded, maybe he had prodded the toast when Ryou's back had been turned. It had been taking too long! It wasn't his fault that the wooden spoon he'd 'borrowed' from Ryou's mixing bowl had gotten stuck in the toaster. Or that the pancake mix had dripped down the spoon. Or that the combination of wood and pancake mix had made the toaster blow a fuse. Literally.

He still winced at the memory of his shriek. He'd sounded just like Téa the time Joey had slipped a spider down the back of her top. Sure, he'd been startled when the thing he was prodding suddenly blew up in his face, but why couldn't he at least have let out a manly yell? Or even a wordless cry would have been fine. But no… instead he'd screamed out 'Ryou!' at the top of his voice. Pathetic.

No wonder his light had been fussing over him ever since. He sighed as Ryou turned to him again. He'd heard of long good-byes, but this was getting ridiculous. Ryou had been on his way out the door for the past ten minutes!

"Are you sure that you will be all right on your own?" Ryou looked anxiously across the room to where his yami leaned against the wall with a bored expression that didn't quite meet his eyes. "I could always…" He trailed off as Bakura scowled at him and straightened.

"Are you deliberately trying to insult me? Because you're doing a good job of it. I don't need a baby-sitter. What do you think I am? Some pathetic little stray that needs looking after? Some defenceless little girl that needs protecting from the big bad world? Some pitiful, helpless human without any… magic…" He paused, looking stunned for a moment before his scowl deepened. "Don't answer that."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ryou muttered, earning a glare from his even-grumpier-than-usual yami. Sighing, he tried again.

"Bakura, I know you can take care of yourself, normally, but this is hardly a normal situation." He gestured to his other half. "For one thing, you're normally a five thousand year old spirit with an entire Shadow Realm of magic at your command, not an ordinary human teenager." A slight smile lit up the boy's too-serious face. "The Shadow Realm isn't nearly as dangerous as high school."

When Bakura continued to glare at him, obviously not appeased, Ryou gave in. "All right. I'll go. But please, take care of yourself. Just because your cold seems to have sorted itself out, it doesn't mean that you're completely well. Don't go overdoing it!"

Bakura snorted and looked away. Ryou sighed, knowing that would be as much of an agreement as he was likely to get. He turned and scooped his schoolbag up from where it lay beside the front door, then paused to speak softly over his shoulder. "You know Bakura, it isn't a bad thing for someone to care about you. That's what friends are for."

Bakura waited until his light had gone out the door before moving to stand beside the window. Tweaking the curtain aside, he watched Ryou walk along the path. "Friends… Is that what we are now?" He watched his light until he turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Even then, Bakura stayed at the window gazing unseeingly into the street as he thought about what he wanted to do that day.

So far, the spell he'd used to give himself a physical body hadn't turned out like he'd thought it would. His first, and only, venture out of the house had resulted in him spending several hours trapped in a duck pond. He'd ended up with a cold that had forced him to stay in bed for an entire morning. The rest of the time he'd spent either tossing and turning because he couldn't sleep or sleeping so deeply that he had barely shifted from one spot for over eighteen hours! As far as he was concerned though, none of that mattered now.

His cold was nothing more than a memory and a slightly scratchy throat that he had most definitely not told Ryou about that morning. He also had a physical body all to himself, with no annoying alter ego to take over at the wrong moment and ruin his plans. Unfortunately, that was the one thing he didn't have. Plans.

It was his first day of being a human, the other day and a half not counting because they been nothing more than wasted time. It was also his last day of being a human, if his light had translated the cursed spell correctly. The spell only lasted for three dawns. He'd already been human for two. That left him less than a day to do everything he had dreamed of doing every time he'd thought about having a physical body again. But there was a problem.

Since he wanted to keep his newfound source of magic a secret from the Pharaoh and his little light, he had to cross 'taunt the Pharaoh with my new body' off his list. That reason also took care of 'taunt the Pharaoh's light with my new body', 'taunt their annoying friends with my new body' and 'taunt the Pharaoh's really annoying enemy with my new body'.

He was tempted to leave 'sneak into Kaiba's mansion, tie him up and make him think that the Pharaoh's light did it' on the list, but after a little more consideration Bakura decided it was too risky. If Kaiba caught even a glance of him, he'd be sure to mistake him for Ryou and there was no way that Ryou could take the kind of punishment that Kaiba would deal out! That also put 'kidnap Kaiba's little brother and make them think the Pharaoh planned it' off the list.

That didn't leave much. There was one idea that was promising, though.

"Now where could I get a camel, a wig and a pot of paint?"

- - -

By mid-morning, Bakura was so bored he was actually considering going to Ryou's school and pretending to be Ryou's long-lost twin brother. It would certainly be more fun than walking through the streets of a city where nothing interesting ever seemed to happen unless the Pharaoh's light or one of his friends was in the vicinity. Apparently the city didn't consider Bakura to be one of Yugi's friends. Absolutely nothing of any interest at all had happened since he'd left the house a few hours earlier.

When he reached Kaiba Land, Bakura was so desperate for something to do that he only hesitated for ten minutes before going in.

The shadows were starting to lengthen by the time Bakura came out of Kaiba Land again. Or rather, by the time he raced out of Kaiba Land as though all of the monsters of the Shadow Realm were on his heels.

Since he was being pursued by a large mob of adoring fangirls, that wasn't all that far from the truth.

Bakura ran as fast as he could, the cries and screams of his new fans making his ears ring painfully. If he'd still had his Shadow Magic, he wouldn't have hesitated to consign them all to the Shadow Realm. As it was, he didn't even have the breath to curse them aloud. As he silently schemed long and painful means of revenge against them all, one thought kept him running despite the growing pain in his side.

If he couldn't lose the fangirls before he got home, Ryou would find out what had happened.

- - -

Ever since he'd arrived home to find his yami missing, Ryou had been worried about Bakura. Actually, he'd been worried about him continuously from the moment he'd walked out the door that morning, but at least at school he'd been able to tell himself that Bakura was safe and sound at home. He had almost managed to convince himself of the fact, but his return home had quickly brought him back to reality. It had also caused a constant, and very distracting when doing math homework, stream of duck images to waddle through his mind.

At the first faint sound, Ryou looked up from his homework and tilted his head, listening carefully. When the sound came again, he stood and crossed to the window to look out to see what was making all the noise. Part of him hoped it was his yami returning home, but the other half hoped that the commotion had nothing to do with Bakura. In his experience, commotion and yamis were never a good mix.

He couldn't see anything, but he could definitely hear something. It sounded like a large group of females all shouting and screaming as they pursued the source of their interest. Idly wondering what Duke Devlin was doing in the area, Ryou started to turn from the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of movement. He stared out the window in shock.

Bakura was climbing over next door's six foot high fence!

Ryou watched his yami in mounting bewilderment as Bakura dropped lightly to the ground inside the fence and crouched there for a moment, clearly out of breath. When Bakura finally stood up, he started towards the fence that separated him from home.

"I wonder if he knows about…" Ryou's musing was cut off by a loud bark. Judging by the look of shock on his yami's face, and his sudden dash for the fence, Bakura apparently had not known about the large dog living next door.

Bakura vanished from sight as he reached the fence, but Ryou could still hear the dog barking, followed by a sudden loud 'Ra!' from Bakura. Ryou winced. "Oh dear." He hurried out of the room to fetch the first aid kit.

- - -

Ryou reached the kitchen just as Bakura came in the back door, out of breath but apparently still in one piece. Before Ryou could speak, Bakura pushed past him and ran down the hall and into the living room. Ryou followed, looking on in growing confusion as his darker half peered cautiously out of the front window.

When a crowd of fangirls charged past, Bakura cringed to one side of the window and hurriedly pulled the curtain back into place. He didn't look again until the sound of their screams and cries had faded. When he was sure they were gone, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned around. He froze when he noticed his light standing in the doorway.

"Ryou…"

"Hello Bakura. What was that all about?" Leaning against the door, Ryou fought the smile that threatened to cross his face. It wasn't often that he got to see his yami looking panicked. If he hadn't seen Bakura's odd reaction to the crowd of girls, he would have been worried. Since he suspected that they were the cause of Bakura's agitation, he was able to relax enough to tease his yami.

Bakura winced. He had been hoping that Ryou would still be at school, but he'd obviously been away longer than he'd thought. For a moment he struggled to think of a good story, but in the end he decided to just wing it.

"Who? Them? Oh, they're just some group of crazed fans. I guess that friend of yours must in the area." He tried to look bored. He would have tried for innocent, but even he wasn't that good.

Ryou raised an eyebrow. "If they were Duke's fans… why were they shouting, 'We love you Bakura!'? I'm almost positive that I heard one of them call out, 'Bakura, you're such a stud muffin!' too, but I could be mistaken about that."

Bakura's eyes went wide. "Oh Ra… I hope so," he muttered, sinking down onto the arm of the couch as if the thought was too much for him to take standing up.

Ryou sighed. He knew the look on his yami's face all too well. "So, why were those girls chasing you? What did you do this time?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Bakura scowled at his light, but had to look away when Ryou simply gave him the 'you know perfectly well what I'm talking about' look that always made Bakura remember everything he'd ever done. "It's not like that. All I did was go to Kaiba Land and play a few duels."

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad. Although, in Yami's book, it would probably be the worst thing you've ever done," Ryou commented lightly and Bakura glanced at him, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Yeah. Well. I wouldn't have gone there either, but I was bored."

"So… how did that lead to your being chased home?" Ryou sat down in a chair opposite Bakura and leaned back, obviously settling in to hear the full story. Bakura sighed.

"Like I said, I played a few duels. When I got bored, I left. I stepped outside and that mob of wild women ambushed me for no reason at all!" Bakura scowled. "Those cursed females followed me all the way back here! I only lost them by jumping…" He glanced at Ryou as though he'd forgotten about him being there. "Um… I lost them. I came home. End of story." He shrugged, trying to sound casual about the whole thing.

Ryou looked thoughtful. "All of the Duels at Kaiba Land are shown on the big screens outside the arena building. I guess the girls must have seen you duel and been impressed by it." He thought for a moment more. "Considering how many girls there were, I'm assuming we're not talking about just one or two duels?"

Bakura smirked. "Twenty-three."

"You won twenty-three duels in a row and you're surprised that you attracted a hoard of fangirls?" Ryou shook his head and sighed, although a slight smile told Bakura that his light was only teasing.

Bakura tried not to be too pleased at Ryou's automatic, and accurate, assumption that he'd won all of his duels. He contented himself with a shrug. "Kaiba really needs to find some better duelists. None of them were anywhere near a decent challenge."

Ryou laughed softly. "I'm sure you'll mention it the next time you see him."

Bakura smirked again. "I could, but it would make more sense if you did."

"Oh? Why?" Ryou looked puzzled.

"Because when I signed in to the Dueling Arena… I used your name."

As the implications of a crowd of adoring fangirls knowing his name and believing that he was Bakura sank into his mind, Ryou went pale.

"Oh… Ra…"

- - -

Considering everything that had happened over the past two and a half days, Bakura was startled to find himself relaxed and content by the time dinner was over. He and Ryou had actually managed to keep up a fairly good conversation throughout the meal and even now, as he leaned against the kitchen bench while Ryou did the dishes, the silence between them was far more comfortable than it usually was. Bakura could even hear Ryou humming softly under his breath.

He was about to tell his light to just go ahead and hum, when the phone's jangling made them both jump. As Ryou reached for it, Bakura thought of something.

"If that's Kaiba asking about a camel, you know nothing about it."

Ryou blinked. The startled look in his eyes became wary. "Why do I have a feeling that I will know all about it by the end of this call?" he muttered as he picked up the phone.

"Hello? Oh, hello Seto. Do I know anything about what? A camel? Er… no. No, really! I…" Ryou blinked and slowly turned to face Bakura, his eyes wide as he stared at his yami. "Would you mind repeating that, please?" He listened and sighed. "Yes, that's what I thought you said. But why do you think I had something to do with… Oh… I see…" He gave Bakura an unfathomable look.

"No Seto, that wasn't me. I was at school all day. I was in your computer class, remember? No, I don't suppose you would, come to think of it. You did seem rather… preoccupied." He thought for a moment and then smiled. "Miss Rawlings threw her eraser at Joey half-way through the lesson. Yes. I heard you laughing when it happened."

Ryou listened and shot Bakura a wary glance. "Um… no… I was in control of my body all day today. Yes, I'm sure. I remember every single minute of it. Yes, I'm positive that I went to every class. I sat with the others at lunch. Yes, I know you don't remember that. You were preoccupied then, too. Joey overheard Téa ask Tristan how Tristan's Friday night date with Serenity had gone and Joey almost choked on his sandwich. Then he almost choked Tristan. Yes, I thought you'd remember that."

A slight smile settled on Ryou's face as he listened for a time. "Oh, don't worry about it Seto, if it's someone up to something, I'm sure we'll find out about it sooner or later. Um… no… I have no idea who it could be. All right. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye."

After hanging up the phone, Ryou paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, then turned to look at Bakura. "That was Seto."

Bakura aimed for a bland expression. "Yeah. I guessed. What did he want?"

"Apparently someone left him a little present while he was at school today." Bakura tried his 'mildly interested' expression as Ryou continued. "He arrived home to find a camel tethered to his front gate."

"A camel."

"Yes."

"Tethered to his front gate."

"Yes." Ryou had noticed that his yami wasn't asking him for confirmation.

"Wearing a wig."

Ryou blinked. "Um… Seto didn't mention that, no."

Bakura smirked. "He wouldn't have. But it was."

"Oh my…" Ryou closed his eyes and shook his head for a moment before looking warily at his yami again. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"The wig looked a lot like the hair of a certain High Priest. The camel had a message painted on his side." Bakura's eyes gleamed with amusement.

"I don't think I want to know but… What was the message?"

"'I love the Pharaoh'."

Ryou winced. "It's a good thing that you're going to be a spirit again tomorrow, otherwise I'm not sure who would kill you first, Seto or Yami…"

Bakura smirked, but something was bothering him about the phone call. "What was all the rest of that about? It sounded like Kaiba wanted to know where you were." A sudden suspicion made him stand up straight, his gaze darting to Ryou's and staying there. "He doesn't think it was you, does he?" He refused to admit that the weighty feeling in the pit of his stomach was fear.

Ryou shook his head. "Not me, no. He thought it was you."

Bakura grinned and relaxed. "That's all right then. It was me."

"He thought you had taken over my body to do it, but since I was at school today, that obviously wasn't the answer."

"Hey! That's a good cover! I'll have to remember that one." Bakura laughed.

"If you do use the spell again, you might consider staying away from Kaiba Land."

Something in Ryou's voice caught Bakura's attention. He eyed his light warily. "Why?"

"Those duels you fought today were all videotaped. Since I was at school the entire time, Seto is now convinced that someone is impersonating me. He warned me to be on my guard, since it was obviously some sort of plot to gain control of the Millennium Items. Or kidnap Mokuba. Or both. He was particularly concerned about the fact that someone apparently knew my deck well enough to assemble one that closely resembled it."

Bakura didn't know whether to burst out laughing at Kaiba's paranoia or be insulted by the comment about their deck. He finally settled for laughter. It took him a while to regain control, and it was a few moments more before he realised that Ryou wasn't joining in. He wasn't even smiling. "Um… Ryou? That's just Kaiba trying to work out what happened. You know it's not true."

Ryou sighed softly. Sometimes, his yami simply didn't understand how things worked, or how their friends thought or would react. "You know that and I know that, but no one else does. They'll all be convinced that there's someone impersonating me. Every time I see one of them, they're going to be unsure whether or not it's really me!"

"Oh. That." Bakura shrugged. "So? What else is new? They look at you like that all the time anyway! They're never sure if it's you or me they're speaking to."

Ryou shook his head and smiled gently. "But at least they know it's one of us, not a complete stranger. Whether it's you or me, they know that they can trust us."

Bakura didn't really want to examine that statement too closely. He understood what his light meant though and he silently cursed when he realised Ryou was right. Thinking for a moment, he got an idea. "Don't worry. I'll let it slip to Malik the next time I see him that I played a little trick on Kaiba. I'll tell him I hired someone to impersonate me, just to see his reaction."

Seeing the doubt on his light's face, he smirked. "It will work. You know I'm good at that kind of thing."

"Oh, I have no doubt that you could make Malik believe you. I'm only worried about what Seto will do to you when he hears of it." Ryou winced at the thought.

"He won't dare do a thing. That's the beauty of the plan. He'll be too afraid of hurting you to do anything to me!" Bakura smirked at his over-anxious light.

"Well, I suppose that makes sense." Ryou made a mental note to stay out of Seto's way for a few days, just in case. Thinking of something, he glanced at his yami. "Do I want to know where you got the camel from?"

"Let's just say that Kaiba's going to have a bit of explaining to do at the local zoo."

- - -

By the time bedtime came, both of the boys were relaxed and content, with nothing on their minds other than sleep and the knowledge that, when they awoke, the spell would have worn off and their two souls would be sharing Ryou's body once more.

Neither of them spoke much as they got ready for bed and then headed downstairs to the living room. They didn't discuss their mutual decision to spend another night on the sofa. They didn't need to. Even though their mind-link was down, they still knew how each other thought.

For a little while they sat quietly, each lost in his own thoughts. The only sound was the low murmur from the TV on the other side of the room. Eventually though, Ryou turned questioning brown eyes onto his yami. "Bakura, I've been wondering… Why did you choose that particular spell?" At Bakura's confused look, Ryou added, "It's just that I'm surprised that you gave up the use of your magic so readily."

"Oh. I didn't." Bakura stared at the TV, unwilling to see the laughter in his light's eyes when he told him the truth. "I didn't know the spell would do that. I expected it to give me a physical body, not to make me completely human. A human without any Shadow Magic."

He winced and waited for the laughter he knew would come. Only… it didn't. Instead, a hand lightly rested on his shoulder, a gentle touch that conveyed his light's compassion far more effectively than words ever could. Bakura found the touch oddly comforting, and unsettling at the same time. He glanced at Ryou and was more than a little surprised to see the boy's wide eyes filled with confusion.

"But Bakura… it says in the spellbook…" Understanding dawned in Ryou's mind as his yami shifted uneasily and looked away. "You didn't read all of the effects, did you?"

Bakura shrugged. "The spell said it would give a spirit physical form, that was all I cared about. I didn't bother reading all of it. Not the smartest thing I've ever done," he admitted quietly.

"No," Ryou agreed, just as quietly. He frowned slightly. "But still, you must have known that it would cost you the use of your magic."

Bakura scowled at him. "I just told you. I didn't read the whole thing."

"But it mentioned it in the spell's title."

Now it was Bakura's turn to be confused. "What? No, it didn't. I may have been impatient, but I'm not blind. I would have seen that!"

"I'll get the book."

The two boys bent their heads over the large book as it rested across their knees. They turned to the index section and Bakura pointed to the title of the spell he had cast a few days earlier. He scowled at it. "There! See? 'How to manifest a spirit as a physical form!' That's all it says!" He grinned in triumph at having been right while his light was wrong. It wasn't something that happened all that often.

Ryou blinked and there was something about the look on his face that made Bakura's heart sink and his smile fade. When Ryou silently pointed to something at the top of the next page, Bakura almost groaned aloud. He didn't want to look. He didn't need to. The look on Ryou's face, not quite pity with a lot of embarrassment, said it all. Still… Bakura had to know just how much of a fool he had really made of himself. He looked.

"That cursed magician! Why in the Shadows would he have put half of the spell's title on one page and the other half on the next page? Who would have thought to look up there!" Bakura glared at the offending title, acutely aware that the boy sitting silently beside him had thought to look. "He did this on purpose! Just to annoy me! I know he did! That cursed magician has always hated me!"

"Oh, I'm sure he wouldn't have done it on purpose. I mean, how could he have known that you would summon the book into existence at all, let alone try to cast that… particular… spell…" Ryou's voice trailed off as his angry yami glared at him.

"Not a word, light. Not. Another. Word." Bakura slammed the book shut and started to move, clearly intending on throwing the book across the room. He glared at Ryou when the boy quickly grabbed his arm. "What?"

"Don't throw it! You might damage it!" There was panic in his eyes and voice. It was the only thing that could have stopped Bakura at that point, and it did. Lowering his arm, he stared at his light.

"That's the idea, Ryou."

"But… what if damaging the book… affects the spell in some way?" Ryou's question was tentative, but it slammed into Bakura with the force of a train. He winced at the realisation that, once again, he'd almost acted without thinking. Luckily for him, his light was able to think enough for both of them. Bakura sighed, his anger leaving him as suddenly as it had come.

"Good point." He placed the book carefully on the end table beside him and leaned back into the couch. He was careful not to look at his light. For a long moment, they were silent.

"I guess we'd better try to get some sleep. Goodnight, Bakura." Ryou pulled the blanket over them and tucked it neatly into place.

The slightest smile flickered across Bakura's face. "Goodnight, Ryou."

Ryou shifted until he was comfortable and closed his eyes with a soft sigh. He wondered if he'd done the right thing by not telling his yami about the second version of the spell that he'd noticed further down the page. The version that gave a spirit a physical form that they could use whenever they wished without the cost of their magic. On reflection, Ryou decided that Bakura would probably only be annoyed if he knew. He'd most likely blame the Dark Magician for listing the other version of the spell first.

Smiling slightly at the thought, Ryou slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep. Beside him, Bakura was already sleeping soundly.

- - -

Bakura stirred, Déjà vu disorientating him for a moment as he woke for the second day in a row to find himself snug and warm within the embrace of a blanket, the warm weight of his sleeping light pressing against his side. He shifted slightly, just enough to look down, and was only mildly surprised to find that his arm had encircled his light at some point. It had happened the night before too. Unlike the previous morning though, this time he was determined not to go back to sleep. Besides, judging by how dark it was, it was almost dawn.

In the pre-dawn darkness Bakura sat silently, simply watching his light sleep, and was surprised to realise just how content he was to do so. If anyone had told him a few days earlier that this dawn would find him sitting here so comfortably with his light, he would have cursed at them and told them to stop dreaming. Yet… here he was.

The darkness was beginning to ease and Bakura knew the dawn was almost there. It wouldn't be long before he had his magic back. He'd had that thought many times over the last few days, but it was the first time that he hadn't been completely happy about it. Looking down at the boy sleeping contentedly by his side, Bakura knew why he was suddenly reluctant for the spell to end.

Despite everything that had happened since he had opened the Book of Secret Arts and cast the spell that had turned his existence upside down, none of it had been related to ancient Egyptian artifacts. Or slightly-less-than-sane people, or yamis, trying to take over the world by stealing ancient Egyptian artifacts. It had been simple things. Ordinary things. The kind of stuff that happened to ordinary people.

In that moment, Bakura understood just how powerful the spell he'd cast had really been. He had thought to cast a simple spell to give him a physical form, but instead he'd gained something far more valuable. For a few days, he had gained a normal life for himself and Ryou.

As he sat in the hushed stillness that came in the moments as the night turned to day, a thought eased its way into Bakura's mind. If he had known of the price when he had first found the spell, he would not have paid it. But if he had known what he would be missing out on by not paying it…

Not yet ready to admit the truth, even to himself, Bakura allowed the thought to fade, uncompleted. A tingling sensation was beginning to flood through his body and he knew it was time.

"Ryou."

At the sound of his yami's voice, Ryou stirred. He opened his eyes and blinked sleepily up at Bakura. For a moment, he thought he caught a glimpse of something oddly gentle in his yami's eyes, but it was gone so fast he was sure he had only imagined it.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"It's time."

Ryou sat up, his eyes wide as he understood. "Oh."

Bakura felt like he should say something, but at the same time he didn't know what to say. It wasn't like he was going away or anything, after all. Before he could say a word though, a sudden wave of dizziness swept through him. He closed his eyes to fight it and heard his light gasp. At the same moment, he could feel the sensations of his physical body fading away as though they had never existed. He could also feel his magical strength return to him.

Opening his eyes, the spirit stood. His body passed through the blanket without hesitation and he was smiling slightly as he turned to his light. "I'm back."

Ryou smiled up at his yami. "I'm glad. I know this will sound strange, since you didn't really go anywhere, but… I've missed you." He ducked his head as a faint flush tinged his cheeks.

Bakura started to say something sarcastic, but stopped as he realised that he really didn't want to.

"I've missed you, too."

The words were spoken so softly that Ryou wasn't sure he'd heard them. Before he could ask Bakura to repeat them though, the spirit vanished, returning to his soul room within Ryou.

Ryou chuckled softly and lay back on the couch again. It was typical of Bakura. Whenever he did or said something nice, he always retreated before he could be asked about it. In this case, after everything that had happened, Ryou had a feeling that he wouldn't be seeing his yami again for a while. Which was a pity, he thought, because it hadn't all been bad.

He could feel himself drifting back to sleep, his memories of the past few days promising to fill his head with dreams. "Some of it was fun. It's a shame he didn't cast the other spell…"

Ryou didn't realise that he'd muttered the thought aloud until Bakura's voice suddenly echoed inside his mind. "Other spell? What other spell?" Ryou's eyes snapped open.

"Oh dear…"

To be continued…


	5. A Spell of Trouble

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 5: A Spell of Trouble  
By Shadow's Mirror

Two weeks had passed since Bakura's discovery of the magic within the Book of Secrets Arts, and things were finally beginning to return to what was considered normal in Ryou's life. 

Kaiba still glared suspiciously at Ryou every time their paths crossed, owing to the 'camel conspiracy' (as Yugi had dubbed it in-between bouts of laughing), but at least he had stopped demanding that Ryou answer personal questions to make sure it was really him and not some impersonator. Also, the fan girls had finally stopped following Ryou around the school, meaning that he was no longer getting into trouble because of their behaviour. Best of all though, that morning, Bakura had finally stopped making Ryou go the long way to and from school just because the short way went within sight of the duck pond. 

All in all, things were going well, Ryou thought as he made his way through the crowd of students towards the table where his friends were sitting having lunch. Maybe he was worrying about nothing. Bakura hadn't shown the slightest interest in casting another spell. The temptation of the book's power was strong, but Bakura's memories of his last experience with it were stronger. Ryou was still grinning at the thought as he pulled out a chair and sat down beside Yugi.

"What's so funny, Ryou? Or have you already heard the news?" Joey asked with a grin before biting into his sandwich. Confused, Ryou glanced at Yugi. He could usually be relied upon to explain Joey's comments. 

Yugi smiled. "You know how the school dance is this Friday, and most of the girls in the upper grades have been hoping to go to it with Seto?" Ryou nodded. Seto had complained about it numerous times in the past few days. Apparently they'd been trying all kinds of ways to attract his attention, from gifts to asking him outright. One had even fainted at his feet. He'd just stepped over her and kept on walking. 

"What about it?" 

"Seto finally decided who he wanted to spend time with that night." Yugi's violet eyes sparkled with laughter.

"Oh? Who?"

"Mokuba!" Joey burst out laughing and had to be thumped on the back when he immediately choked on his lunch. 

As Tristan pounded his buddy's back, Ryou glanced at Yugi for confirmation. He was stunned when his friend nodded, but not so stunned that he missed the curious little half-smile that Yugi was trying to hide. Ryou leaned closer so he could talk without being overheard. Not a difficult task since Joey had started arguing with Tristan about his backslapping technique. 

"Care to let me in on the joke?" 

Yugi chuckled. "Seto came over to talk to me this morning. He said, loudly enough so the girls sighing behind him could hear every word, that he had decided not to attend the dance. His excuse was that he didn't want to leave Mokuba alone with a sitter since he's just getting over a bad cold."

Ryou looked concerned. "Mokuba's had a cold?" 

Yugi grinned. "Not really. It's just the excuse Seto's using to get out of going to the dance." 

Before Ryou could reply, there was a sudden commotion on the other side of the room. It was quickly followed by howls of laughter from Joey and Tristan. Ryou and Yugi shrugged at each other. Whatever had happened, they'd both missed it. Yugi looked over at Téa. "What happened?"

Téa had an odd look on her face, like she was torn between laughing and offering her assistance. "Some of the girls who were hoping to go to the dance with Seto just cornered him. I don't think they were happy with his excuse for not going. They… tipped his lunch all over him. He was having the soup," she added, causing Joey and Tristan to let out another round of laughter. 

"Oh dear." Ryou tried not to smile but didn't quite succeed. He dared a quick glance at Yugi, who seemed to be having the same problem. They both had to look away before they burst out laughing. 

"I don't get it though." Joey finally calmed down enough to comment. "What good did that do them? I mean, he didn't want to go to the dance, so they tipped soup all over him. What was the point? Now if they'd been bringing him lunch, I could understand it. Trying to bribe him to change his mind. But this…" Joey shook his head, completely unable to fathom anyone wasting food in such a way. 

"Oh Joey… They just wanted to let him know that they hadn't fallen for his lie about Mokuba. Also, that they weren't impressed by the fact that he'd lied to them instead of just telling them straight out that he didn't want to go to the dance with any of them." Téa said it as though it were a perfectly natural reaction to the situation. Every guy at the table stared at her in shock. 

"They really meant all of that just by dumping his dinner over him? Man… I don't think I'll ever understand girls…" Joey shook his head, still eyeing Téa with surprise. 

Yugi got a familiar far-away look in his eyes for a moment and then chuckled. He flushed when he realised that everyone was looking at him. "Sorry guys, Yami just said that some things never change and that females are just as unfathomable by males today as they were five thousand years ago. Oh, and Joey, he says that if you ever manage to understand girls, could you please let him know, because he's still trying to figure them out too." 

"Hey!" Téa protested, but she was grinning just as much as everyone else. 

Ryou chuckled softly. His smile faded though when his yami spoke up from inside his soul room. *Ryou! Bathroom! Now!* Blinking in surprise at the apparent urgency, and sighing at the fact that whatever it was that his yami wanted would probably make him late for his first afternoon class, Ryou quickly made his excuses and left for the nearest bathroom. 

* * *

"All right, we're here, now what was so… urgent…" Ryou blinked in shock as Bakura suddenly appeared at his side. His yami rarely separated from him, and usually only in the privacy of their home, where they could talk without being overheard or observed. For Bakura to come out here, now, it had to be something important. When Ryou noticed the way his yami's eyes glittered though, he knew it also meant trouble. "Bakura?"

Ignoring his light, Bakura pulled a single card out of his pocket. He'd kept it separate from the rest of the deck, just in case he needed it urgently, as he did now. Holding it up, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the dark magic surging within him. "I summon The Book of Secret Arts!" 

Ryou's eyes went wide. "Oh dear… Bakura! What are you going to do?" 

This time, Bakura did acknowledge the question. He smirked at Ryou. "I'm going to get the better of that cursed Pharaoh, that's what I'm going to do." His dark eyes gleamed with pleasure at the thought. 

"But… how?" Ryou eyed his yami uneasily.

"You heard what Yugi said. The Pharaoh admitted that he can't understand the way females think. All I have to do is cast a spell so I can do what he can't, and then he'll have to admit that I'm better than he is! It's perfect!"

Ryou barely managed to keep from whimpering. He could see so many flaws in his yami's 'perfect' plan… He decided to point out the most obvious one first. "Um… that's assuming that there is a spell that will do that…" he said hesitantly. 

Bakura's smirk grew. "Ah, but that's just it, Ryou. I already know there is! I saw it when I was looking for the physical form spell. It didn't interest me at the time, but it's just what I want now!" Resting the heavy book on the edge of one of the sinks, Bakura checked the index and then started flipping through the pages. He pretended not to be aware of his anxious light coming up behind him. 

"Um… are you sure this is a good idea? I mean… the last spell didn't exactly do what you wanted it to… What if this one's the same?" 

"It won't be. This time the heading was in the middle of the page, so there's no way I only read half of it. It said very clearly, 'To understand the female mind'. That's exactly what I want to be able to do! Ah! Here it is!" 

Bakura tried to read through the spell, but he was more than a little distracted by his light hovering nervously at his side. Finally, he turned to glare at the boy. "By the Shadows, Ryou! If you don't want to watch, then turn your back or something, but stop staring at me like that!" 

Ryou dropped his head and stared down at the tiled floor. "Sorry Bakura. I'm just… worried. After what happened last time…"

"Yeah, well, this isn't last time!" Bakura smirked as he returned his attention to the spell. As he read the instructions though, his smile faded. 

Although he'd never admit it to his light, his Japanese was horrendous. The writing in this book was even worse though. He could make out most of it, but there were some areas where he could only make out one in every three or four words. Since it was only in the description though, he didn't worry about it. The spell was the important thing and it was all written clearly and neatly. 

Bakura winced as he finished reading the instructions. He hadn't thought it possible, but this spell was even more embarrassing than the first one! There was no way he could do this in front of his light! Turning to his light, Bakura pointed to the nearest bathroom stall. "In there. Now!"

"Bakura?"

"I need to do this in private so it's either you or me, and there's nowhere to put the book down in there." 

"How about at home? There's plenty of privacy there. If you wait until after school…" Ryou looked hopefully at his yami. If he could persuade Bakura to wait, maybe something would happen between now and then to make him forget his idea! 

"Not a chance, Ryou. Now get in there!" 

Bakura ignored the reproachful look his light gave him as Ryou moved into the stall. "Shut the door behind you!" He shook his head when it gently swung closed. If their positions had been reversed, he knew he would have slammed it out of sheer frustration. "Guess that's why he's the light," he muttered to himself as he turned back to the spellbook. He sighed heavily before beginning. 

* * *

According to the instructions, he didn't have to chant this spell. "Of course not, that would be too easy." He glared at the offending words. "Why did it have to be singing? I hate singing." He winced at the rest of the instructions, and slowly moved into position.

There was a drawing of the position he had to stand in while casting the spell. Just the fact that the drawing was needed made Bakura shudder. The drawing itself made him seriously reconsider casting the spell at all. For a moment anyway. With a heavy sigh and a glance at the stall door to make sure it was still closed, Bakura began the spell.

Standing on tiptoe with his legs crossed at the ankles wasn't as easy at it looked in the drawing. He muttered a curse when he overbalanced and almost fell. His curse was a little louder the second and third times it happened. On his fourth try, he finally got it right. 

When he was balanced, he slowly raised his arms above his head, curved slightly so his hands met. He felt ridiculous. Glancing at the book, he started turning around in a circle while singing the spell. He sang it quickly so the embarrassment wouldn't last too long. 

__

"Magic from within my soul,  
I call to you to grant my goal.  
Slight of form and light of voice,  
Let the rest be nature's choice.   
By my will, my powers bind,  
To let me know the female mind.  
Ancient magic I beseech,  
Place this knowledge within my reach.   
A price so asked, a price so paid,  
For three dawns hence let man know maid."

* * *

In the bathroom stall, Ryou blinked at the sound of his yami's slightly husky voice singing. Despite his anxiety about the spell, he had to smile when he realised that the tune was the same one that he hummed whenever he was happy. Bakura had caught him humming it in the kitchen at one point while he was human. Apparently he'd listened to it long enough for him to learn it. Ryou winced slightly at the thought. His embarrassment was forgotten though as he caught the words to the spell. 

Frowning slightly as he listened, Ryou began to wonder if his yami had interpreted the spell's effect correctly. This sounded like something more than a spell to understand the female mind. Or rather… it sounded exactly like that. Ryou's eyes widened in shocked horror as he realised the mistake his yami had made. His hand flew to the door handle and he pushed the door open.

The first thing he noticed was the position his yami was in. Ryou recognised it immediately as a classical ballet pose. He would have laughed, if the situation hadn't been so serious. For a long moment, he simply stared at his yami, barely able to believe his eyes.

Bakura swung around as the stall door opened. "Ryou! I told you to… Ryou? What is it?" His light was staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. That look worried Bakura more than he cared to admit. He had a sudden feeling that something had gone wrong. Very wrong. He suddenly realised that his light's look wasn't the only indication of that. He felt… strange. He shook his head, trying to clear it, but it wasn't just the slight dizziness that was making him feel odd. It felt as though he was in an unfamiliar body… Body? 

Before he could complete that line of thought, Ryou gestured weakly at him. "Bakura… turn around." 

Frowning at his light, Bakura started to question the order but something in Ryou's eyes made him pause to reconsider. Silently, he turned around; the movement bringing him face to face with the mirror that ran the length of the room above the sinks. He stared at his reflection, stunned. 

The spell had gone wrong! 

A pair of wide brown eyes blinked in surprise out of a pale, heart-shaped face, framed by a cascade of smooth hair that flowed down Bakura's back like rich wine. Hand trembling, Bakura hesitantly pulled some of the dark red strands to where he could see them without the mirror. No, they were definitely red and not white. He scowled. "Cursed spell! How is changing my hair colour going to help me understand females?" 

"That… wasn't all the spell changed." 

Ryou's soft voice made Bakura swing around to stare at his light. "Huh? What are you talking about?" For the first time, he realised that his voice sounded… different. It was still slightly husky, but now it was softer and the pitch was slighter higher. His hand went instinctively to his throat as he frowned. "My hair and my voice? What in the Shadows is going on?"

Ryou started to respond, but his attention was suddenly caught by the sound of footsteps approaching the bathroom. "Oh no! Someone's coming! You have to hide!" He looked around in a panic. Bakura frowned. 

"Relax. No one can see me, remember?"

Ryou was about to reply when the door to the room suddenly opened and another student started into the room. His eyes moved straight to Bakura and he gasped. "Hey! You shouldn't be in here! This is the boy's bathroom!"

Too shocked by the fact that this human could see him to wonder at the odd comment, Bakura scowled at him. "I'll go wherever I want!"

The boy scowled back. "Fine! Let's see how you like it when I get a teacher!" He ran out of the room.

Before Bakura could do more than blink, Ryou was tugging on his arm and pleading with him, a desperate note in his voice. "Come on Bakura! You have to hide! Quickly! If a teacher sees you in here we'll both be in big trouble!" 

"What are you talking about? So the boy could see me, that's no need for you to…" Bakura started to pull his arm away but paused, his gaze intent on where Ryou's hand was gripping his sleeve. His all-too-physical sleeve. "Oh no… don't tell me I'm human again!" He groaned. 

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that." Bakura blinked at the grimness of Ryou's voice. 

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the spell worked."

"Well, obviously! Although I don't see why it made me human again. It must have gone wrong. There's no need to panic though." Bakura suddenly smirked. "I'm still dressed like you. If a teacher comes in, we'll just pretend I'm a new student. No big deal." 

Ryou bit his lip, not looking at all reassured. "I'm afraid that won't work." 

"Huh? Why not? See, I'm in the uniform and everythi…" Bakura trailed off as shock robbed him of his voice. He'd reached up to straighten his coat as he'd talked and… Not wanting to believe what his mind told him, Bakura looked down at where his hands were. Understanding flooded through him and Ryou's nervousness suddenly made complete sense. "Oh Ra!"

The spell had worked; it just hadn't had the effect that Bakura had been expecting. Instead of merely giving Bakura the ability to understand females, it had given him the physical form of one! 

* * *

As the shock began to fade slightly, Bakura grew aware of three things at once. Firstly, he refused to think of himself as being female. He was still a male at heart; the physical form was just a temporary inconvenience. Secondly, his light was tugging on his sleeve again. Finally, the sound of two sets of footsteps was echoing down the short corridor towards the bathroom. The student had apparently been serious about getting a teacher. 

Bakura didn't even want to think about what would happen if the teacher discovered him in his current form in the boy's bathroom. It would cause all kinds of problems, both for him and for Ryou. He had to hide! Pulling away from Ryou, Bakura hurried into the nearest stall and shut the door. Outside, he could hear Ryou hurrying to the stall at the end. 

The bathroom door opened and a deep male voice said, "All right, I know you're in here. Why don't you save yourself a lot of trouble and come out where I can see you. You'll be in a lot more trouble if I have to come find you!" 

Bakura listened intently as the footsteps began to echo across the floor. They were coming closer to the stall he was in. He swallowed hard as they stopped right outside the door. 

"You said she was wearing a boy's uniform?" The teacher asked the boy who'd accompanied him. The boy must have nodded because the teacher knocked on the door. "I know you're in there."

Bakura looked down and realised with horror that the stall door didn't go all the way to the floor. Of course the teacher knew he was in there. He could see his feet! 

Bakura knew he was caught. Maybe if he showed himself, the teacher wouldn't think to see if there was anyone else in the bathroom. At least that way Ryou wouldn't be punished. Silently cursing his luck, Bakura reached out to open the door. 

* * *

Ryou's heart pounded in his chest as he listened to the teacher. He recognised the voice. It was Mr Masuti, the Science teacher. Ryou trembled slightly. Mr Masuti was known for his strict discipline and harsh punishments. If he found Bakura… Ryou couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. 

The heavy book in Ryou's hands started to slip and the boy quickly shifted it so it was held more securely. He barely stifled a gasp as he suddenly realised. Maybe there was a way to keep Bakura a secret after all!

Quickly and quietly, Ryou looked up the index. He almost sighed in relief when he found what he was looking for. A few moments later, he had turned to the page and was carefully reading through the spell. Yes, it was exactly what he and Bakura needed!

After reading through the spell twice to make sure he had it memorised, Ryou closed his eyes. He spoke the spell in a voice barely above a whisper, and hoped that it would be enough.

__

"Until safely home let magic guise,  
Hide my yami from unshadowed eyes."

Ryou finished the spell just in time. He heard the stall door open just as he said the final word. Biting his lip nervously, Ryou waited to see what would happen. 

* * *

Bakura was about to open the door when a wave of dizziness suddenly passed over him. 

Outside the stall, the teacher suddenly growled. "Don't think you can get away that easily!" He slammed his hand against the door, which Bakura had not thought to lock. It was hard to say who was more surprised when the door opened. Bakura, who suddenly found himself staring at a large, scowling teacher, or the teacher, who found himself staring into an apparently empty cubicle. 

"What? Where did she go?" Bakura blinked in shock as the teacher seemed to peer right through him! The student also didn't seem to be able to see him. Was he back to being a spirit again? A quick check of his powers confirmed that wasn't the case. So… what had happened then? 

At the end of the bathroom, a cubicle door suddenly opened and Ryou emerged. Bakura tensed in shock. What was his light thinking?

* * *

Ryou knew he had to act as innocent as possible. He had to get Mr Masuti away from Bakura! So, after stuffing the spellbook into his schoolbag, Ryou casually stepped out of the stall. As he walked over to the sinks, he glanced at Mr Masuti as though wondering what was going on. 

"Is something wrong, sir?" he asked softly. The teacher, who had whirled around at Ryou's appearance, frowned suspiciously at him. 

"Ryou. Have you seen a girl in here?"

Ryou blinked and tried his best to look confused. "A girl? But… this is the boy's bathroom…"

Mr Masuti sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. Just get to class. The bell's due to ring in a few minutes." Turning away, he began to open the cubicle doors one by one. 

Ryou finished washing his hands and went to the door. As he passed the stall where Bakura was, the yami silently slipped out to join him. Although Bakura glanced warily at the teacher and student, neither of them noticed him as he followed Ryou out of the room. 

As soon as they were in the short hallway that connected the bathroom to the main hallway, Bakura looked at his light. "What in the Shadows happened back there? I know I'm still human, so why couldn't they see me? The boy had no trouble seeing me earlier!"

Ryou felt heat rise into his cheeks and stared down at the floor as he walked. "I… used the book to make you invisible to them." He had walked a few more steps before he realised that Bakura had stopped in his tracks. Turning, he blinked at the stunned look on his yami's face. "Bakura? Are you all right? You look rather pale." 

Bakura shook his head as if to clear it and stared at his light. "You made me invisible? With a spell? From the book? The book with the spells that never turn out right?" When Ryou nodded timidly, Bakura groaned. "Oh Ra! That's all I need… As if being a human girl wasn't bad enough, now I'm an invisible human girl!" He glared at his light. "Thanks a lot, Ryou!"

Ryou hurried to reassure his yami. "Oh no! It's not permanent! Don't worry, Bakura. The spell will only last long enough for you to get home again. As soon as you're home, it will fade. Until then, the only ones who can see you are those with Shadow Magic, so as long as you avoid Yugi and the others, you'll be fine." 

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and Ryou began walking quickly down the hall. After a moment's hesitation, Bakura followed him. "How can you be so sure about this? The two spells I tried both backfired! What makes you think this one won't too? I swear, that blasted Magician wrote the wrong things in that book. Nothing works as it should! He probably did it just to annoy me."

Ryou didn't have much time before his first afternoon class started. But he took the time to reassure Bakura. He could tell that his yami wasn't at all happy about how things had turned out. "I read through the spell very carefully and it explained everything in detail. It gave different variations for different situations and I know I used the right one. It was a very simple spell. I would not have cast it if I hadn't believed it would work." 

Bakura snorted and looked away, unwilling to admit that he knew his light was telling the truth. Ryou would never do anything to make a situation worse. His quick thinking had probably saved both of them from getting into serious trouble. Bakura was still uneasy though. "So, what, I'm supposed to just go home now?"

Ryou nodded. "It probably would be best, yes. That way, there'd be no chance of one of the others seeing you." At his yami's heavy sigh, he smiled slightly. "I'll come straight home so I'll be there before you know it!" A sudden thought had him pulling out the spellbook. "Here, you'd better take this with you. I'd have a hard time explaining it if it was seen."

"Fine." Bakura took the spellbook and, with a final glare for his light, opened the door into the main hall and stepped out. Within moments he had gone out of Ryou's sight. Sighing softly, Ryou went off to class.

* * *

Bakura sighed as he peered in the shop window at the display of Duel Monsters cards. It seemed a shame to waste the fact that he was invisible. The spell was any thief's dream. But… he knew Ryou would be deeply ashamed of him if he stole anything. Sighing again, Bakura continued walking. "He'd probably make me take the stuff back anyway. Just my luck to get a light with a conscience."

Although he resisted temptation with the shop, the park proved too enticing for him to pass up. 

With an evil smirk, Bakura walked up to the ducks. The animals, being normal creatures despite Bakura's frequent reference to them as being 'the evil minions of that wretched Magician', were unable to see him. Bakura took great pleasure in throwing each duck into the pond. "Ha! Let's see how you like it!" 

The ducks, being ducks, actually quite enjoyed the experience, but at least Bakura felt as though he'd gained vengeance on them. He was smiling by the time he left the park and headed for home. 

As he let himself into the kitchen, Bakura admitted to himself that he didn't mind being back in human form too much. Despite everything that had gone wrong last time, there had been a few good times. Mainly the evenings, when he and Ryou had been just like a normal family. 

A glance at his reflection in the hall mirror as he passed it on his way upstairs was a very unpleasant reminder to Bakura that this time around things wouldn't be exactly the same. 

He paused and scowled at his reflection. "Female… That cursed Magician did this on purpose! If he'd written so I could actually read the blasted book, this wouldn't have happened!" He glared at the unfamiliar figure in the mirror for a moment before he realised something that made him shudder. 

"Oh Ra… I'm actually… cute!" 

To be continued…


	6. Truth, Lies and Consequences

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 6: Truth, Lies and Consequences  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou opened the kitchen door. "Bakura! I'm home!" When no reply came, he frowned slightly. "Oh dear… I hope he… er… she made it home all right." In case Bakura simply wasn't in the mood to reply to his call, Ryou started searching the house.

He found her in his room, leaning against the windowsill as she stared out the open window. She was so lost in thought that she jumped when Ryou spoke up from behind her, hitting her head on the bottom of the window in the process. "Ow!" 

Ryou gasped. "Are you all right, Bakura?" He hurried to her side. 

"Do I look like I'm all right? What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?" Bakura tried to glare at her light over her shoulder, but knew she didn't succeed as well as she normally did. She needed pure anger for a proper glare, not the confusing mix of emotions churning inside her. Also, glares didn't work too well when you could see two of the person you were trying to glare at. 

Ryou gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I'm so used to you knowing exactly where I am all the time that I didn't think to let you know I was here." 

Bakura snorted, but at least her glare faded. Ryou tried a little kindness. "That was quite a bump, Do you want me to take a look at it?" 

"No. It's fine. Before you ask, I'm fine as well and no, I don't want to talk about anything. Especially not about this cursed spell." Bakura scowled and then seemed to think of something.

"By the way, the next time we challenge that wretched Pharaoh, it will be a Shadow Game. I'm going to get him back for this. He tricked me. Him and that annoying little light of his. I bet he told Yugi to tell everyone that line about how he didn't understand females. He knew I'd overhear and that I'd try to beat him at it. Yes, this is definitely all the Pharaoh's fault." 

Ryou started to point out what was wrong with all of that, but ended up just sighing. If Bakura didn't blame Yami for this, she'd be sure to blame him for whatever happened next. There was no sense in annoying her by 'taking the cursed Pharaoh's side', as Bakura put it. So Ryou settled on a general reassurance. 

"Don't worry, Bakura. I'm sure this spell will wear off just like the other one did. In the meantime, you're safe and sound here." 

Bakura snorted and looked away. "I know that. What I don't know is how long I'll be stuck like this." Her hands clenched into fists. "I don't know how long I can stand it!"

Ryou blinked. It really wasn't like his yami to admit to something like that. As he looked at Bakura though, he noticed something that gave him an idea as to what had caused this shift in attitude. 

Bakura was no longer in the school uniform she'd been wearing earlier. 

As he thought about what that meant, a flush rose up Ryou's neck and into his cheeks and he had to look away as he struggled not to smile. "I… imagine it must be difficult… getting used to a new body," he offered hesitantly.

"What are you talking about? The new body's fine. It's your clothes that are the problem. They don't fit right anymore! See?" Bakura moved, turning around to face him as she flung her arms out so Ryou could get a good look at her. 

Ryou gasped and quickly turned his back, his flush deepening as he tried desperately to keep his mind off what he'd just seen. "Um… Bakura… maybe you should wear something other than a white T-shirt…" Like something that wasn't so tight across… Ryou somehow managed to keep from continuing the thought. 

Bakura snorted, but her voice was laced with amusement when she replied. "Ryou, all you have are white T-shirts! Haven't you ever heard of black? Or how about colour? Heard of it? I'm not sure you have, since there's no sign of it anywhere!" 

"I have plenty of colourful clothes!" Ryou protested indignantly.

"I don't mean those ridiculously fluffy things you call sweaters. And jeans don't count," Bakura added when Ryou opened his mouth to protest again. Ryou whirled around and blinked at her. 

"Did you just read my mind?" 

"No. They're the only other non-white things you have." Bakura smirked. Her smile faded as she noticed Ryou's attention straying slightly. She sighed. "Ryou… I'm up here." 

"Oh!" Ryou's guilty brown eyes immediately snapped up to meet his yami's knowingly amused look. 

Bakura blinked in surprise as Ryou turned the brightest shade of red she'd ever seen on a human. She sighed again. "This is going to be a problem for you, isn't it?"

It was Ryou's turn to blink. He also went even redder. "No! Um… I… That is… Um…" He paused as a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Wait a minute… Why only me? Isn't it going to be a problem for you too?" He frowned at his yami in confusion.

Bakura smirked. "Not really, no. I happen to like this body. Being stuck in it does have certain… advantages." Her dark eyes gleamed wickedly and she almost laughed aloud at the shocked look on her light's face. It really was all too easy to tease her innocent light. She shifted slightly and sighed as her top pinched. "I can live with the body, as long as it's only temporary, but these clothes have got to go!" 

Ryou made a strangled sound and bolted for the door, leaving Bakura standing blinking in the room. It took her a moment to realise what had happened. She sighed. 

"Ryou! Get back here! I didn't mean it like that!" 

When he didn't reappear, she scowled and went after him. "Honestly, for an innocent light he sure is quick to think of non-innocent things. Those friends of his are such a bad influence on him…" 

* * *

By dinnertime, Ryou was able to ignore Bakura's new form long enough to look her in the eyes at least once every few sentences. By the time Ryou and Bakura were ready for bed, they had fallen back into the relaxed pattern of their evenings during the 'physical form' spell. 

Although neither would openly admit it, they were both rather surprised to realise how much they'd missed that time together. They'd even reached a silent understanding not to spoil the evening by talking about the spells and how they had gone wrong. But their easiness fled when they faced each other in front of the couch. 

Ryou shifted nervously from foot to foot, his eyes glancing from the couch to Bakura and back again. "Um… maybe we should try separate rooms again?" 

Bakura snorted. "And have us both exhausted tomorrow because we didn't get any sleep? No thanks! Look, I don't like this any more than you do, but we both know this is the only way we'll be able to sleep. What's the big deal, Ryou? It's not like we haven't done this before!" 

Ryou flushed and suddenly found something very interesting on the floor for him to stare at. "We… haven't. Not like this anyway. I mean… it was one thing when we were both… but now you're… It's different now," he admitted softly. 

"Ryou… Look at me." Bakura's voice was very soft and Ryou silently obeyed. For a moment, yami and hikari stared into each other's eyes. "I'm still me."

"I know." But there was still worry in Ryou's eyes.

"So what's the problem? Look, if it makes you happier, we'll sit at opposite ends of the couch and use different blankets." As soon as she said it, Bakura looked stunned. She blinked at Ryou. "And why didn't we think of that last time?" 

Ryou managed a slight smile. "Because the first night was unplanned and the second night, we just did the same thing as the night before, since we knew it worked. But, I suppose we could try your plan for tonight." At his yami's impatient look, Ryou shrugged. "I'm sorry. It's just that… I have the strangest feeling that this is not a good idea."

Bakura waved the concern away. "You're just paranoid."

"Look who's talking." Ryou said wryly. Bakura smirked.

"Yeah. So I know what I'm talking about. Now stop the fussing and let's get some sleep already!" 

Ryou sighed and nodded and they got settled in at each end of the couch. Bakura's even breathing soon told Ryou that his yami was asleep, but it was some time before Ryou joined her in slumber.

* * *

Ryou stirred as the smell of coffee wafted through the air. Even only half awake, he knew he didn't want to move. He was warm and comfortable and someone was holding him safe in their arms. He couldn't think of anywhere he'd rather be. But the aroma of coffee tickled the back of his mind even more than it tickled his nose. There was something wrong about it. Something he needed to remember. Someone cleared their throat and the realisation leaped into Ryou's mind. If he and his yami were here, then who had made the coffee? His eyes snapped open and his whole body tensed as he took in the situation. 

It was not good.

At some point in the night, as though still drawn together by the magic that normally bound them to each other, Ryou and Bakura had shifted until they were curled up together in the middle of the couch. Ryou was lying against Bakura's side, his head on her shoulder and her arms wrapped around him, one around his shoulders, the other around his waist. His arms were wrapped around her waist too. It was the third time they'd woken together that way, but this time was very different. 

It wasn't because Bakura was in female form. Actually, Ryou didn't even remember about the spell until he caught sight of the dark red hair falling over the shoulder he was leaning on. 

What made it different was the fact that Ryou's father was sitting in the chair opposite, sipping a cup of coffee and looking at Ryou as though he wasn't quite sure whether to demand an explanation or congratulate him and leave them alone again. 

As far as Ryou was concerned, the situation couldn't have been worse. His father didn't have many rules, but one of them was that Ryou had to behave himself while he was on his own. Somehow, he didn't think that sleeping on the sofa with a girl his father didn't know qualified as good behaviour. 

Taking a deep breath, Ryou smiled nervously. "G-good morning, Father. I… wasn't expecting you back for a few more weeks." He kept his voice quiet, hoping Bakura would keep sleeping.

Mr Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Obviously." He too kept his voice quiet. 

Ryou flushed, uncomfortably aware that he'd said the last thing he should have said. He was also suddenly aware that his yami's breathing had changed. It was only subtly, but Ryou noticed it. 

Bakura was awake. 

There was nothing Ryou could do except continue to act as though nothing unusual was going on, and hope that Bakura was alert enough to know that she needed to stay quiet. 

"Um… You're probably wondering what's going on…" Ryou began hesitantly. 

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes," his father agreed, taking another sip of coffee. 

Ryou's mind worked at the speed of lightning. He wasn't used to coming up with stories or lies, but he couldn't very well tell his father the truth. After a moment's pause, he decided to keep it simple. 

"Well… this is my… friend… Kura… from school. She… came over last night to… study with me. We… have a big English exam tomorrow. It was still fairly early when we finished so… we decided to… watch a movie. Only… I guess all that studying must have… tired us out." Ryou managed a weak smile, knowing from the look of disappointment on his father's face that his story hadn't fooled him in the slightest. 

"It was a good thing you brought down a blanket, just in case it grew cold during the night," Ryou's father commented softly. 

"Two blankets." Bakura's husky voice spoke up and Ryou had to struggle to contain his gasp of surprise. "At least, that's what we started off with." 

Bakura slowly drew away from Ryou as she sat up. While she shifted position, she moved her hand until it touched her light's and gave it a slight squeeze. Ryou somehow managed to keep himself still. Since their hands were hidden beneath the blanket, his father didn't notice a thing. 

Bakura shrugged. "I'm a restless sleeper. I probably kicked mine off sometime in the night and got cold so…" Bakura frowned slightly and looked at Ryou. "I guess I must have crawled in with you. Sorry about that." 

At that moment, Ryou could have kissed his yami, if his father hadn't been watching and if he hadn't thought that Bakura would torment him for weeks over it. Instead, he contented himself with lightly squeezing his yami's hand, which was still holding his under the concealing blanket. He also smiled slightly at Bakura. "That's okay."

Bakura turned to Ryou's father, carefully concealing her feelings towards him behind a slight smile. As if it wasn't bad enough that he left Ryou alone (as far as he knew) for months at a time, when he did come home he thought he had the right to embarrass and shame his son for something that had been perfectly innocent! Bakura felt the rage burn within her, but forced it back. 

"Hi! I'm Kura! It's so nice to finally meet you! Ryou's told me so much about you!" 

Mr Bakura blinked at her; apparently stunned by the fact that the two teenagers were treating the situation so casually, as though it hadn't been anything like it had looked. Not that he believed them for a second. "It's nice to meet you too… Kura is it? My, what an unusual name, and so similar to…"

Bakura laughed before he completed the sentence. "Yeah! I know! It was a standing joke around school last year. That was how we got to know each other."

"So you and Ryou have… known each other for some time then?"

Bakura didn't miss the pause, but she pretended to, for Ryou's sake. He was embarrassed enough already. "Oh sure, it's been over a year now since we met. But we didn't become friends until a few months ago, when Ryou started tutoring me in English." 

The story fell from her lips without hesitation. She had always been a very good liar. It was just one of her many talents that Ryou didn't approve of. 

Ryou's father blinked. "He's… tutoring you?" 

Again, Bakura pretended to miss the pause. "Uh huh. I'm hopeless at English." Her eyes suddenly gleamed as a wicked thought entered her mind. "Give me Hieroglyphs anytime!"

Now Ryou's father looked amazed. "Hieroglyphs?"

"Kura is fluent in them," Ryou spoke up quietly, causing his father to blink. Apparently he'd forgotten that his son was still in the room. 

"I see…" His sharp eyes looked thoughtfully at Bakura, obviously reassessing his original opinion of her and thinking of another way to catch her and Ryou out in what he was sure was a lie. 

"Won't your parents be wondering where you are? Perhaps you should call them…"

She felt Ryou flinch. In her mind, Bakura cursed his father with every curse she knew. Since that took a while, she bought herself some time by staring down at the floor as though embarrassed. 

"My father's dead." She indulged herself in a very pleasant mental image for a moment before continuing. "My mother's away at the moment, but she said it was okay for me to study with Ryou. She likes him." Bakura smiled slightly, as though amused by her 'mother's' reaction to Ryou. In reality she was trying not to laugh out loud at the look of shock on the man's face. "But I wasn't supposed to stay over. We just fell asleep by accident."

Turning to Ryou, Bakura grinned as though embarrassed. Under the blanket, her hand squeezed his. "Next time, we'd better not study so long. Either that, or skip the movie afterwards." 

Ryou grinned back at her. His smile was a little shaky, true, but it was still a grin. "I vote to shorten the study session." He squeezed her hand back. 

"Yeah. Five straight hours was definitely too much." 

Again, Bakura had to force herself not to laugh at the look on Ryou's father's face. He obviously thought they'd been 'studying' something other than English. Her eyes gleamed. As long as he didn't cause any trouble for Ryou, she didn't care what he thought. Still, Ryou was clearly upset so it was time to bring this meeting to a stop. 

She smiled at Ryou's father. "Anyway, it was nice to meet you. I'd better get going. Otherwise, I'll be late for school." As she pulled the blanket off, she slipped her hand away from Ryou's. She felt her light tense at her side, but it was the cool air on her bare legs that reminded her of something she'd forgotten to take into account. 

Although she'd started off wearing a pair of Ryou's pajamas, the pants had been too big on her more slender frame so she'd ended up taking them off entirely. That left her wearing the pajama top. Luckily, Ryou liked his tops long, and her new form was slightly shorter than his, so it came down to mid-thigh on her. Still, she knew Ryou's father would find it very strange that she was wearing one of his son's pajama tops. Her mind raced to think up an explanation. 

Ryou, who had luckily chosen to sleep in a comfortable old tracksuit rather than his other pair of pajamas, stood up and turned to her. "I think you left your shoes in my room." 

His back to his father, he silently pointed to her top then to himself and then made a 'shhh' gesture, with one finger to his lips. Bakura got the message immediately and grinned slightly. There were advantages to having a father who was rarely home to see his son first thing in the morning. Apparently Ryou's father had no idea what his son's pajamas looked like!

"Yeah. Thanks." Forcing herself to move slowly, Bakura stood up and headed for the stairs, following her light. As she walked, she had to force herself not to look over her shoulder. For the whole way across the room, she could feel Ryou's father staring at her bare legs. 

* * *

As soon as they reached Ryou's room, Bakura started scheming. 

"All right, here's what we're going to do. Ryou, you'll see me to the door and wave goodbye as though I'm leaving. I'll go around the corner, but then I'll double back. I'll meet you here. Whatever you do, don't let Father corner you before then!" She glared at her light until Ryou nodded in agreement.

"When I get here, have that spell ready. You know, the one you cast on me yesterday. Only this time, make it last the whole day. You can do that, right?" She suddenly looked a lot less sure of herself. 

Ryou smiled slightly. "Yes, I can. All I need to do is set a condition that needs to be met in order for you to become visible. Yesterday, it was until you were home again. What should it be today?" 

Bakura thought for a moment. An image of their hands squeezing in reassurance flashed through her mind. "Our hands touching. Will that work?" Ryou smiled and nodded. Bakura knew he liked that idea. "All right then. That way I'll be able to stay here for the day without Father knowing." 

Ryou noticed the gleam in her eyes as she said that but decided not to ask. There were some things he suspected he was better off not knowing. What his yami planned to do to Father was one of them. Still… it was Father… "Don't do anything… permanent. All right?" 

For a moment, Bakura just looked at him, an unreadable expression on her face. Then she smiled slightly. "All right. Nothing permanent." 

Grabbing a pair of Ryou's sneakers out of his wardrobe, she started putting them on. "I'll need to borrow a couple of English books. I wouldn't put it past Father to look at them." Ryou nodded and crossed to his desk to get some things together for her. 

"Now, this afternoon, I'll meet you at the corner. I'll become visible again and you'll bring me home with you for tea. Don't worry about Father. I'll make sure he's too busy to question us. We'll convince him to let me stay the night." She paused, frowning slightly. 

"I wish I knew how long this spell was going to last for… This won't work if we do it for too long." 

"Three dawns, the same as last time." Bakura blinked at Ryou who grinned sheepishly. "I had a look at the spell last night. We only have to get through today and tomorrow, then you'll be back to normal." There was just a hint of wistfulness in his voice. 

"Good. All right. I think we're set." Bakura smirked at her light. "Let's do it!"

* * *

The first part of the plan worked flawlessly. With Bakura secretly there to provide 'distractions', Ryou's father didn't get a chance to question Ryou before he went off to school. In fact, Ryou's father was so busy cleaning up after the dishwasher mysteriously suffered from an excess of dishwashing liquid and spread bubbles all over the kitchen floor, that he didn't even get a chance to eat his own breakfast! 

When he went to eat it, there was nothing on his plate but a few crumbs and the soft sound of meowing from the cat that had apparently wandered inside when he wasn't looking. He spent the next hour searching for the cat that he could hear meowing but couldn't find, all the while cursing it for eating his breakfast. By the time the cat stopped meowing, all he wanted was a bit of peace and quiet and something to eat. 

Then the tradesmen started arriving. 

By lunchtime, three plumbers, four handymen and two electricians had rung the doorbell claiming to have been called to that address. When the pizza delivery boy arrived, Ryou's father was actually relieved to see him and happily paid for the pizza, even though he hadn't ordered it. He set it out on a plate and was about to bite into his first slice when the doorbell rang. Muttering under his breath, he went to answer it. 

By the time he returned to the kitchen, cursing at the kids who had played the 'ring the bell and run away' trick, he was thoroughly fed up. When he found the pizza missing, his curses echoed all the way up the stairs to Ryou's room.

Bakura listened for a moment, making a mental note of a few she hadn't heard before, settled comfortably on Ryou's bed, smirked and bit into her first slice of pizza. 

* * *

The first sign that the plan wasn't going to work quite as expected came that afternoon when Ryou's father started locking up the house half an hour before school finished. Wondering what was going on, Bakura decided to tag along. When the car pulled up in front of the school, she was glad that she had. Apparently Ryou's father had decided to collect his son from school. 

Slipping out of the car through the open window, she ran into the main hall just as the bell rang. There were so many students; she started wondering if she'd missed him when a warm hand suddenly grasped hers. Gasping, she turned, ready to knock down whoever had dared grab her, then sighed with relief. "Ryou! I never thought I'd be so glad to see you! Listen, Father's here and… Why are you laughing?" 

Ryou tried to stop, but the sight of his yami in a girl's school uniform was just too funny to ignore. "Where did you get those clothes?" 

Bakura glared at him. "If you must know, I swiped them from a washing line on my way home yesterday. I thought they might come in handy." She sighed at the look Ryou gave her. "Don't worry, I'll return them as soon as I'm finished with them. Well…" She glanced at him and it was his turn to sigh. 

"I know… I'll return them once you're a spirit again." Ryou shook his head and they started towards the door. "So… do you know what Father has planned?" 

Bakura's eyes gleamed as she smirked. "No, but I'm guessing it has something to do with food. He hasn't had much luck in that area today." 

Ryou blinked and glanced at her. "I don't want to know what you did today, do I?" 

"Probably not," Bakura agreed cheerfully and her light wisely left it at that. 

* * *

That night, after a five hour trip to the mall and several hours of listening to his son and Kura as they did their homework and played cards in Ryou's room, Mr Bakura stood in the doorway to the living room and eyed the two figures curled up together on the couch. He was very confused. 

He had watched the two teenagers carefully all evening and had seen nothing that would indicate that they were anything other than what they had claimed to be, friends. In fact, sometimes he even wondered about that, because he'd caught Kura glaring at Ryou more than once. But within moments of sitting down in front of the television, all that had changed. 

Ryou had been the first to fall asleep and his body had instinctively curled up against Kura's, his head seeking her shoulder. He was completely at ease, instinctively trusting that he could sleep safely in his friend's arms. Ryou had always been a trusting child, but also a very reserved one. His father had never seen Ryou show that kind of trust to anyone before. 

Kura had been almost asleep at that point and she had instinctively drawn Ryou into her arms. Mr Bakura had been stunned to see how possessively and protectively the girl held his son. Even now, when she was completely asleep, Kura's arms had not relaxed their hold. 

As he watched them sleep, Mr Bakura had to admit that at least part of the story Ryou had told him that morning had been true. He'd seen for himself how easily they had fallen asleep and ended up in each other's arms. As for the rest of it… well he'd just have to wait and see.

Nodding to himself, Mr Bakura turned off the lights and headed upstairs to bed. They looked so comfortable that he didn't have the heart to disturb their sleep. 

He made a mental note to set his alarm clock to wake him before dawn, so he could check on them. 

To be continued…


	7. More Lies and Consequences

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 7: More Lies and Consequences  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou's father made his way down the stairs as quietly as he could, then headed to the living room doorway and peered into the dark room beyond. He blinked in disbelief and then a slight smile crossed his face. On the couch, Ryou and Kura were still sound asleep in each other's arms. Since they were in more or less the same position as when he'd gone up to bed the night before, Mr Bakura was confident that they'd behaved themselves during the night. As he went into the kitchen, he wondered if perhaps they had been telling the truth about their just being friends.

When she was sure he was gone, Bakura opened her eyes and sighed softly in relief. That had been close. Thank Ra his alarm clock had been loud enough to wake her up as well! She'd had just enough time to reposition herself and Ryou before his father came to check on them. 

Looking down at the boy sleeping peacefully at her side, Bakura smirked. It was a good thing Ryou hadn't woken up. She'd have never heard the end of it if he'd found out that she'd wound up sleeping cradled in his arms with her head against his chest... again. This was becoming a habit. Who'd have guessed that Ryou would make such a comfortable pillow? 

Since it was still very early, Bakura settled back against the comfortable sofa and enjoyed a rare moment of total contentment. She and her light were safe and sound. They were also warm and dry, something she was never taking for granted again after her experience with a certain duck pond. The only thing they had to do that day was fool Father into believing that Kura had gone to school with Ryou, when in reality she was… 

Bakura paused for a moment to consider. What was she going to do all day while Ryou was at school? The day before had been fun, but she didn't really feel like spending another day playing pranks on Father. Maybe she could go to school with Ryou and play pranks there? No… bad idea… Bakura shivered slightly at the thought of the Pharaoh or his light catching sight of her. Knowing her luck, they'd probably realise who she was right away! Maybe her light would have an idea about what she could do. 

She settled back to wait for her light to wake up so she could ask him. Two minutes later, Ryou gave a soft whimper and opened his eyes. "Kura… too tight…" he whispered. 

"Oh. Sorry Ryou." Bakura loosened her hold on his waist and grinned brightly at him. "Since you're awake, what should I do today?"

Ryou blinked sleepily and stared at his yami in confusion until he woke up enough to understand the question. "What do you want to do today?" 

Bakura shrugged. "I don't really care. I just have to get through today and tonight and then things will be back to normal."

"Normal?" Ryou and Bakura froze as a voice interrupted their conversation. "I know your big test is today, but what's so special about tonight?" 

Ryou looked up and somehow managed to smile weakly at his father. "Good morning, Father. Um… there's really nothing special about tonight. It's just the school dance, that's all, but I… I mean we… aren't going." 

His father raised an eyebrow. "Not going? Of course you're going!" He smiled brightly at the two teenagers before winking at Bakura. "You want to go to the dance with Ryou, don't you Kura? Ryou, my boy, what you have to realise is that girls always like going to dances. I'll bet Kura's been looking forward to it for ages and she's probably very disappointed that you haven't asked her!" He stood there, a smile on his face, obviously waiting for Ryou to ask Kura to the dance. 

Ryou barely managed to keep from wincing. Somehow, he also managed to keep from looking at 'Kura'. He could feel his yami tensing beside him and knew he had to diffuse the situation quickly. He wouldn't put it past Bakura to tell his father exactly what she thought of that suggestion.

"Um… actually Father, Kura and I were planning to go to a movie tonight, instead." 

"Oh?" Mr Bakura shook his head, still smiling. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. After all, you two seem to have a problem with watching movies together. I wouldn't have believed you two could fall asleep so quickly if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!" He chuckled and Ryou smiled weakly. 

"It's different in a theatre, Father. The chairs aren't as comfortable." He knew it was a weak excuse even before his father started shaking his head. 

"And it's darker. No, I really think you two would be better off going to the dance rather than the movies." Mr Bakura was using his 'I mean it' voice. He didn't use it often, but when he did… Ryou sighed softly and glanced at Kura. There was still one chance to get out of this mess, if Bakura recognised the cue when he gave it to her!

"Well Kura, it's up to you. Do you want to go to the dance or would you rather…" Ryou hesitated. He had been going to say 'come over here again', but his father was already very skeptical about Kura and Ryou's relationship to her, so he didn't want to press his luck. He quickly cast his mind around for another alternative, but Bakura beat him to it. 

"I'd rather go dueling at Kaiba Land."

Ryou glanced at his yami and smiled slightly, knowing that the sarcasm in the comment would be completely unnoticed by his father. Bakura hated dueling at Kaiba Land. Aside from the fact that Kaiba would probably be there, since he wasn't going to the dance, Bakura had also had a rather unpleasant experience there back during the 'physical form' spell. 

"Oh, come now Kura, there's no need to be shy." Mr Bakura smiled at the girl. "I know you don't mean that! Why, it's obvious that there's something special between you and Ryou, so you don't need to try to hide it from me! I'm sure there's nothing you'd like more than to spend the night dancing with my son. Tell you what, I'll even drive you both there tonight. How does that sound?" 

Bakura opened her mouth to tell him exactly how that sounded. 

"Thank you, Father. That sounds… like fun…" Ryou smiled weakly at his furious yami as Bakura glared at him. Mr Bakura never noticed the silent exchange. He was too busy congratulating himself on having helped his overly shy son get a date for the school dance. 

* * *

Ryou sighed softly as he packed his schoolbag. It had been over two hours since his father had forced them into going to the dance. Bakura still wasn't speaking to him. He could hear his yami moving around in the next room, where she had left her backpack (really an old one of Ryou's) and some stuff Ryou had bought for her during their trip to the mall the day before (since Father would have noticed sooner or later if she'd kept borrowing his clothes). Knowing Bakura, she was probably trying to work out how they'd been maneuvered into this mess, and how they were going to get out of it again. Ryou was wondering the same thing. 

"Almost ready to go?" Ryou jumped in surprise as his father's voice came from the doorway. That was getting to be a habit. His father came into the room and looked around in surprise. It had been a while since he'd been in his son's room. He didn't remember the room being quite so… white… Ryou had apparently redecorated at some point. He blinked at the Change of Heart poster on the wall. "What an odd-looking Angel." 

Ryou smiled slightly. "Actually it's not…"

"Ryou! Why in the world did you buy me these? You know I don't wear…" Bakura stormed into the room, dressed in her school uniform and with her brown eyes flashing with irritation. The cause of her complaint, a pair of black lace panties and matching bra, dangled from her fingers as she held them up in front of her. She was glaring so hard at them that it took her a moment to realise that she and Ryou were not alone. She froze.

Bakura blinked at Ryou's father, her eyes wide with shock. Suddenly realising that she was still holding up the lacy items, she swiftly moved them behind her back. "Um… I'll just…" She gestured vaguely towards the door then practically ran from the room, leaving Ryou cringing from the speculative look his father was giving him. 

"I'm curious to know the answer to her question myself, son. Why did you buy them for her?" 

Ryou's father could have sworn his son muttered 'Oh, Ra…' 

* * *

As they walked towards the park, Bakura kept shooting her light wary glances. Finally, Ryou could take it no longer. "Honestly Bakura, I'm not mad at you! To be honest, it was worth the embarrassment to see the look on Father's face when I told him I'd bought them for you because I thought you would like them more than the white ones." He smiled slightly as she snickered. 

"Yeah, I still can't believe you said that." She gave him what was, for her, an almost affectionate look. "Those friends of yours are a bad influence on you." 

Ryou raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "You're a five thousand year old yami who was once a tombrobber in ancient Egypt and who still delights in causing all kinds of chaos and mayhem, and you say my friends are a bad influence?" He shook his head as Bakura smirked proudly. 

"Anyway, we never did work out what you're going to do today. It's too risky for you to come to school with me. I have Yugi and Malik in some of my classes. They can see through the spell just like I can."

Bakura nodded, her smile fading into a disgruntled look. "If you cast the spell on me again, I'll just go back home and spend the day in your room. I'll be bored stiff, but at least the Pharaoh won't see me." Her eyes brightened, a wicked gleam flashing into them. Ryou suddenly got very worried. "I know! I'll look through those photo albums you keep hidden in the bottom drawer of your desk! I've always wondered what you keep in them…" She smirked evilly as Ryou went pale. 

"No, you most certainly will not!" Ryou sighed as Bakura chuckled. "On second thought, maybe it would be better if you came to school with me. I'm sure we could find somewhere for you to spend the day safely." 

Bakura chuckled and they continued their walk to school. Eventually, Ryou broke the silence. "I was tempted to ask Father if I could stay home today. I really wanted to have another look at the spell you cast. I only had a quick look at it the other day and I haven't had a chance to read through it properly since then. We also need time to get ready for tonight." He sighed heavily at the thought.

"Yeah. So why didn't you ask Father?"

Ryou smiled wryly. "Because I didn't think he'd accept 'I need time to study a spellbook' as an excuse and if I'd said that I needed time to help you get ready for the dance, he would either have offered to help or given me his 'ancient civilisations' lecture."

"Oh Ra…" Bakura shuddered at the thought of Father 'helping'. Then she blinked as the rest of Ryou's words registered. "What kind of lecture? What do ancient civilisations have to do with you staying home from school?" Bakura blinked at her light in confusion. Ryou shook his head.

"Not my staying home, my staying home to help you get ready for the dance. It's Father's version of the 'birds and bees' lecture. You'd be surprised just how many ancient civilisations had traditions, rituals and totems that were related in some way to that sort of thing." Ryou sighed. He was obviously very familiar with that particular lecture. 

Bakura blinked and then smirked. "I'm surprised he's felt the need to tell you about 'that sort of thing'." She glanced at her light, her smirk making her eyes gleam wickedly. "Have you done anything I should know about?" 

"No… but I think you've done a few things I don't know about…" Ryou smiled wryly. "Most of the lectures came after you'd taken control of my body for a time, without my knowledge."

* * *

Ryou looked at his yami anxiously. "Now, are you sure you'll be all right here for the day?"

Bakura sighed. Her light was such a worrier. "For the fourth time, Ryou, I'll be fine!"

"I'll meet you back here as soon as school is over." Still Ryou hesitated.

"Fine! Just go! Before you get detention and end up having to spend an extra hour here!" The look Bakura gave him left Ryou with no doubt about how his yami felt about that happening. 

"All right. Just remember, if you see Yugi or Malik, just pretend you don't recognise them and they won't have any idea who you are. They'll think you're a new student in another class."

"Fine. Don't you have an English exam today? Why don't you worry about that instead? When is it anyway?" Bakura asked a little too innocently. Ryou frowned slightly. 

"First period. Why?"

Bakura shrugged but the gleam in her eyes told Ryou that it had not been a casual question. "Can't a yami be interested in what her light will be doing? Now get to class." She looked over at the school's front gate, which could be clearly seen from where they stood outside the school library. "The bell's about to ring." 

Ryou blinked as the bell rang. "How did you know…?"

Bakura smirked and nodded towards the gate. "I can see Joey running up the street." 

As Ryou walked to class, he couldn't help but wonder about the gleam in his yami's eyes. He knew that look and it usually meant trouble. Surely she couldn't be planning anything too bad though. After all, how much trouble could she get into at the school library?

* * *

Ryou sighed softly when the fire alarm clanged through the school. The bell signaling the end of the first period had only just rung. The timing couldn't possibly be a coincidence. "Now what has she done?" he muttered under his breath.

Half an hour and nine false alarms later, the principal's voice came over the PA system. "Owing to a… fault in the school fire alarm, the remainder of today's classes have been canceled. Students are permitted to leave if they wish." 

As the school echoed with the student's cheers, Ryou sighed and shook his head. One thing he'd say for Bakura, she was certainly very good at getting what she wanted. Or, in this case, what they both wanted. Now they'd have all the time they needed to study the spellbook and get ready for the dance. Just one thing bothered Ryou. He couldn't help but wonder why the principal had sounded more than a little panicked…

* * *

Bakura smirked at Ryou and stood up from her seat on the library steps. "Ready to go?"

"Yes… Do I want to know how you managed this?" Ryou raised an eyebrow.

"Me?" Bakura opened her eyes wide. "Why Ryou, I'm hurt! Why would you blame this on innocent little me?" 

"Because you're about as 'innocent' as the Summoned Skull is defenseless against the Petite Angel." 

As they headed for the gate, Ryou glanced at his yami, who was still chuckling over the Petite Angel comment. "So… what did you do to the principal? And don't pretend you didn't do anything," he added when Bakura tried to look innocent again, "He wouldn't have dismissed us all just because of a 'faulty' fire alarm."

Bakura smirked. "Well… I guess the little… talk I had with him might have influenced him a bit."

Ryou stopped walking and stared at his yami in shock. "You… you talked to the principal? Oh. Oh dear." 

"Ryou?" Bakura frowned at her light, then darted forward as the boy, now very pale, swayed slightly on his feet. "Hey! Ryou! Snap out of it! It's okay! He couldn't see me, remember? He just thought he was hearing things, that's all. It was funny, not something to worry about!"

Ryou anxiously searched his yami's face, relieved when he saw the look in Bakura's eyes. He could usually tell when his yami was lying to him and right now, Bakura was telling the truth. He gave a shaky little nod and they started walking again, although Bakura kept a close eye on her light.

They decided to go to the park rather than home, since they'd have more privacy there. Finding a quiet spot out of sight of the main paths, they settled down on the grass. While Ryou sat cross-legged studying the book in his lap, Bakura lay down on her back and idly watched the clouds scroll across the sky. She had just spotted one that looked like the Millennium Rod when Ryou spoke, his voice soft and confused.

"Bakura, how come you didn't know what the spell would do to you? It says right here, 'To gain a better understanding of the female mind, for three dawns the caster shall wear female form. This form shall be created and sustained for the duration of the spell by the magic, will and heart of the caster. The spell will drain his magic, rendering him effectively powerless during this time.'" Ryou fell silent, remembering his yami's surprise and outrage at the results of the spell. 

"You didn't read the effects of the spell through, did you?" There was no judgment or criticism in his tone, just Ryou's usual gentle understanding. Bakura squirmed uncomfortably.

"No," she finally admitted, then immediately changed the topic by adding, "Does it say why I look so different now?" She fingered a strand of her dark red hair as she spoke. 

Ryou was quiet for a few moments as he read. Finally he frowned thoughtfully and shook his head. "All is says is that the spell draws from the heart and will of the caster to create the form. After that it goes on to the spell itself."

Bakura scowled. "What in the Shadows is that supposed to mean? Cursed magicians, they always have to make everything difficult. What's wrong with being straightforward? Why would I have wanted myself to have red hair?"

While his frustrated yami continued to curse magicians in general, and favourite magicians of certain Pharaohs in particular, Ryou remained silent. He didn't understand that part of the spell any more than Bakura did. As he waited for his yami to run out of steam, Ryou turned to the index page and began looking through the list of spells. He hadn't really had a chance to study the book so closely before, so he wanted to make the most of the opportunity. 

Most of the spells sounded like mere tricks, although Ryou had a feeling that their descriptions would show them to be anything but. The spells he'd cast had been simple, but effective, and there was no denying the strength of the spells Bakura had cast. There was a great deal of power in this book. He could actually feel it deep within his soul, where his own magic stirred in response to it. But what intrigued Ryou the most was the way in which the spells had been named, as though the book's writer, the Dark Magician, had been deliberately trying to disguise how powerful the spells really were. Glancing at his yami as he thought that, Ryou had to hide his smile. Maybe Bakura's claim that the magician was doing it on purpose wasn't so far off the mark after all.

Returning his attention to the book, Ryou started to turn the page when one of the spell titles suddenly caught his eye. He frowned slightly as he read it, then turned to the page the spell was on. As he read through the spell, his heartbeat quickened. 

"Bakura… I think I've just found something that will help us get you ready for the dance tonight." 

Irritated at being interrupted in the middle of a perfectly good rant, Bakura sat up and took the book Ryou was holding out. "More magic? I'd rather duel Kaiba. Or the Pharaoh." She glanced down at the spell before looking away, then looked back at it again. She blinked. 

"The Cinderella Spell? Why does that sound so familiar?" 

To be continued…


	8. A Spell From the Heart

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For anyone who's been wondering about Bakura's hair ^_^ ****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 8: A Spell from the Heart   
By Shadow's Mirror

"So, we're agreed then?" Ryou looked hopefully at his disgruntled yami. Bakura sighed.

"I suppose so." She crossed her arms and glared at the ground. Her light was far too eager about this for her liking. 

"How about here?" Ryou looked around thoughtfully. "It's quiet and we're out of sight. With Father at home, this is probably the most privacy we'll be able to get."

Bakura sighed and nodded. "Yes, this will do." An anxious look flickered over her face. "Ryou… are you sure you want to do this?" As Ryou pulled the spellbook onto his lap, she eyed it warily. "I don't trust that book." 

Ryou smiled slightly as he looked over at her. "I'm sure, Bakura. Don't worry. So far the spells I've cast have all worked perfectly. Besides, thanks to Father, we don't have much choice…" He looked away, sighing softly. 

"You know, 'Kura' could always just not turn up at your place tonight. I like that plan better." She fidgeted for a moment. "If we go to this stupid dance thingy, someone's sure to recognise me."

Ryou knew that by 'someone' Bakura really meant 'the Pharaoh'. He looked at his yami thoughtfully. "No Bakura, I really don't think they will. It's not just the red hair; you look different in general as well. Only slightly, but I think it will be enough. People tend to see what they expect to see."

Bakura scowled at her light. "What's that supposed to mean? You're starting to talk like that cursed magician writes!"

"I mean, the few people who know about you won't be expecting to see you there tonight, let alone in female form. So, they won't realise who you are. They might think that you look familiar, but they'll probably just assume that they've seen you around the school at some point." He hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and continued. "You will need to be careful around our friends though. If you act like yourself…"

That earned Ryou another scowl from his yami. "I'm not stupid, Ryou! Of course I won't be acting like myself tonight! That's what makes me so annoyed about all this. I'm going to have to spend hours acting like some simpering, giggling little girl! Oh Ra… Just thinking about it makes me ill…" She shuddered. Ryou smiled sympathetically.

"At least Seto won't be there," he offered softly.

"Yeah. That's something anyway," Bakura admitted. She sighed. "But you know, everyone is going to be wondering who I am. We probably won't get a moment's peace! I mean, Shadows, if I saw you at one of these things with a girl, I'd wonder about it myself!" 

She sent her light a curious look. "Come to think of it… I've never even seen you speak to a girl except about homework or school. Téa, Mai and Serenity don't count," she added, as Ryou started to protest. She stared at her light, as Ryou suddenly seemed to find the ground very interesting. "Ryou?" Her voice softened very slightly. "Light?"

Ryou looked up, but didn't quite meet his yami's eyes. "I've always been… quiet. Most girls just… don't seem to notice me and I've… never cared enough about anyone to try to change that." 

"Oh." Bakura was silent for a moment. 

"Their loss." 

The words were so soft that Ryou wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. He blinked at Bakura in shock and started to ask her to repeat herself, but she glared at him and he closed his mouth without saying a word. Instead, he gave her a very tentative smile. For a moment, Bakura looked as though she was going to smile back, but then she tensed and turned away to stare at the ground. 

"If you're going to cast that spell, you'd better go ahead and do it. Before anyone comes." 

"Um… right…" Ryou could feel his cheeks heating up as he turned his attention to the book, although he wasn't quite sure why he was embarrassed. After a moment, when he knew he'd stopped blushing, he put the book aside and stood up. 

Bakura idly watched her light, looking bored. When Ryou pulled his dueling deck out of his bag though, she tensed. "What do you need that for?" 

Ryou blinked in surprise. "Didn't you read what the book said? It doesn't actually have the spell written down, it just says that Dark Witch is able to cast it. So I need to summon her so she can cast the spell on you." 

Bakura blinked. She had looked at the spell, but the writing had been so cramped that she hadn't been able to make most of it out. "But… Ryou… you can't summon Duel Monsters! You've never been able to! None of you lights can! You don't have enough Shadow Magic for it." She suddenly brightened. "Well, that's that then! I guess we'll just have to go for my plan instead! You can cast the invisible spell on me and we'll spend the evening dueling in… Why are you looking at me like that? You can't summon Duel Monsters and that's all there is to it!" She scowled at her stubborn light.

"We don't know if I can do it or not. I have never tried," Ryou said simply. 

Bakura started to say something but stopped herself. Her light would just have to find out the truth the hard way. She shrugged. "Go ahead then." She sat back to watch the show.

Ryou sighed softly. He hated it when his yami gave him that condescending look. Especially since he already doubted himself. He didn't need his yami doubting too! Deciding not to look at Bakura, he turned away slightly. 

For a moment, Ryou stood still with his deck resting on the palm of his left hand. He closed his eyes and relaxed, allowing his mind to drift slightly before he began to focus his attention on what he needed to do. As always, he could feel the slightest pulse coming from deep within the cards. He focused on it, using it to guide him deeper into the magic that lay within his deck, and within himself. His right hand touched the deck and he drew a card. He didn't need to look at it. He knew what card it was. He could feel it. 

Long before he had met Yugi, Ryou had known about the Heart of the Cards. The spirit of the Ring claimed the credit for introducing Ryou to the game, but the truth was that Ryou had always known there was something special about it. The first time he had seen a Duel Monster card, he had felt it tug at something deep within himself, like a memory that he couldn't quite recall. The first time he had held one, he had felt the pulse of its heartbeat as clearly as if it was his own heart beating. 

As the pulse began to echo inside his mind, Ryou could feel the magic rising within him. Only a little at first, but it quickly grew. 

Bakura tensed as something in the air shifted. She looked around, wondering if someone was watching them, then slowly turned back to Ryou as she realised what she was sensing. It was magic. Shadow Magic. Incredibly strong Shadow Magic. And it was coming… from Ryou! 

Although the trees and bushes around them were still, Ryou's long white hair whipped around him as though it were being buffeted by a strong wind. As Bakura looked on, eyes wide with shock, Ryou began to glow with a faint silvery light. The light grew stronger until it made Bakura's eyes water to look at it, but she could not bring herself to look away. Then Ryou's eyes snapped opened and Bakura gasped as a familiar eye symbol shone silver on Ryou's forehead. 

"Dark Witch! By the Shadow Magic, I summon you!" 

His voice was soft, but heartfelt. Then he tensed, a shudder shaking his body as his eyes closed. Suddenly worried, Bakura scrambled to her feet.

Ryou gasped as a burning pain ripped through him. It felt as though his blood was on fire! He closed his eyes, struggling desperately to keep his mind focused on what he needed to do. He refused to give up, but… he hadn't expected it to hurt so much! Ryou heard a faint whimper and knew it came from his own throat, but he was hurting too much to be embarrassed by it. 

The magic was starting to fade. Ryou tried to keep going, but his strength was almost completely gone. At least the pain was fading too. As the power completely drained away, he wavered and almost collapsed, but something… no… someone… caught him and held him steady. 

Ryou opened his eyes and found himself staring into a pair of startled purple-blue orbs. 

"Master Ryou! Are you all right?" Dark Witch gently lowered her young master to the ground, kneeling beside him as she continued to hold his slight form close. She gazed at him in concern and then her gaze flicked up. "Well, don't just stand there staring, girl! Come and help him! I don't bite. Much." 

At first, Ryou was confused by her words, then he realised that Bakura was standing over them, hands clenched into tight fists by her sides as though she was struggling to stop herself from hitting someone. Probably him. He smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, Kura. I didn't mean to worry you. I didn't realise it would take so much out of me. But…" He glanced at Dark Witch and his smile became stronger. "I did it, Kura! I… called… her…" He closed his eyes and groaned softly as a wave of weakness swept over him. 

"Ryou!" There was worry in Bakura's voice, but even more startling was the hesitation in her touch as she touched his arm. "Ryou? Speak to me!" A moment's pause and then, "Light?" It was so soft, Ryou barely heard it, but Dark Witch gasped. 

"Light? Wait a minute… you're not…" Ryou opened his eyes in time to see Dark Witch catch Bakura's chin in one hand. Scowling, Bakura tried to pull away. 

"Hey! Stop that!" 

The Shadow monster held her face still and stared deep into her eyes. "Bakura? Is that you?" As Bakura pulled away, scowling fiercely, Dark Witch gave a delighted laugh. "It is you! Oh this is marvelous!" Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Getting in touch with your feminine side are you, dear?" 

"Don't. Call. Me. Dear." Bakura bit out, her voice barely more than a low growl. Her eyes blazed as she glared at Dark Witch. The monster grinned back at Bakura, unrepentant. 

"Please… don't fight…" The soft whisper made both Bakura and Dark Witch look down at Ryou. His eyes were still shadowed with tiredness, but at least his colour was starting to return. He'd gone so pale…

"We're not fighting, sweet master." Dark Witch hugged the boy gently and raised an eyebrow when Bakura growled softly. "If I truly wanted to anger her, I'd say something about how powerful her protective mothering instinct is. Or about how easily jealous she becomes." She wisely left it at that, seeing as Bakura looked mad enough to hit something. Probably her. 

"No, sweet master," she ignored Bakura's growl, "we are not fighting. Although, I had thought that was why I was called…" She looked over at Bakura, one eyebrow raised in silent query. When she just snorted and looked away, she turned her attention to the boy in her arms. 

"Master Ryou, was there something you required of me?" She hugged him again and was rewarded by the sound of Bakura's gasp, followed by her sharp retort. 

"Certainly not that!" 

"Not what?' She looked up at Bakura innocently and hugged Ryou again. The boy really was deliciously huggable. Bakura turned a very interesting shade of red.

"Not… what you're thinking about!" 

Dark Witch gave a delighted chuckle. She hadn't had this much fun since the time she'd bespelled D Human to look like the Mystical Elf and he'd ended up having to fend off the attentions of a very amorous Celtic Guardian. "Oh really? And what would that be, exactly?" She hugged Ryou again.

"Dark Witch, stop teasing her." The gentle reprimand was all it took. She looked down at the still-too-pale child in her arms and smiled at him. Ryou smiled back, very slightly. He obviously hadn't recovered from his spellcasting.

"Why did you summon me, my master?" she asked softly.

"Well… there's this school dance tonight and Father's in town and he found Kura and I…" Ryou trailed off at Bakura's warning growl. "Um… anyway… Father is expecting Kura and I to go to the dance together, but there's no way we could get ready for something like that on our own and in the Book of Secret Arts…" 

He trailed off again, this time because Dark Witch had growled. He blinked up at her, confused by the irritation that was making her eyes flash. "Um… the book says that you can cast a spell to get someone ready for something like this… That is… if you wouldn't mind?" Ryou finished timidly, uncertain about her reaction. Dark Witch did not look happy.

"This is about that wretched 'Cinderella' spell, isn't it?" She groaned when Ryou nodded tentatively. "I knew it! I told him this wouldn't be forgotten so easily but oh no, he just refused to believe me! 'The tale will vanish into obscurity in no time.' Sure it has! Can you believe he actually said that? As for the Dark Magician…" 

Dark Witch suddenly paused in her rant and glanced at Ryou suspiciously. "What was it listed under?" At his blank look she elaborated. "The spell, what was it listed under?"

"Oh… 'Quick make up tips from Cinderella's Fairy Godmother.'" Ryou blinked as Dark Witch shuddered and closed her eyes. 

"I am going to hurt that wretched Magician." 

"Get in line," Bakura muttered, earning a quick grin from the Witch. 

Her good humour restored by Bakura's obvious ill-feeling towards the bane of her existence, Dark Witch looked down at the boy in her arms. Noting his apprehension, she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry so, sweet master. Of course I will help you." 

She studied him for a moment. "My spell is really for girls, but I think it might just work for you… You're certainly pretty enough."

"What! No! I… Bakura, stop laughing! No, the spell's not for me. Will you please stop that, Bakura. It isn't funny. I really don't need any help, Dark Witch, and I'm certain I don't want this particular spell cast on me, thank you all the same. Bakura! Please! The spell's for Bakura, not me!" 

Ryou was panting with alarm as he finally squeaked out the last of his panicked ramble. Dark Witch blinked and smiled at him as she hugged him. 

"Don't worry sweet master. Your secret longing to be a girl is safe with me." Ryou went pale and whimpered softly before turning wide begging eyes onto Bakura. 

"Bakura! Tell her!" 

The red-haired girl sighed heavily. "Yeah. It's for me. Father made Ryou ask me to this cursed dance. I tried to get us out of it but… he was insistent." Bakura scowled down at the ground and waited for Dark Witch to laugh.

"How about you Ryou? Do you want to go to the ball… er… dance?" 

Bakura looked up in shock at the softly spoken question. She scowled when she saw how closely Dark Witch was holding Ryou. She scowled even more when she realised that Ryou wasn't complaining about it. 

"Of course he doesn't want to go to it!" Bakura froze at the look that flickered across her light's face before he could hide it. "Ryou? You… you do want to go, don't you?" she asked quietly.

"Not really… I don't usually enjoy that kind of thing. It's just that… this time… with you… Oh, I'm just being silly! Forget I said anything!" Ryou smiled as brightly as he could, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. 

Bakura was silent for a moment, then she sighed heavily. "All right. Let's get this over with. What do I have to do?" She refused to look at either Ryou or Dark Witch, instead staring at the ground.

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" Bakura fidgeted as she watched Dark Witch check the water in the bathtub. "I just had a shower this morning! Really!"

Dark Witch grinned at her master… er… mistress. "That's one of the funny things about us girls, Bakura. We like to be clean and smell sweet when we go out on a date."

Bakura tensed. "For the nineteenth time, this is **not** a date! It's a method of torture that Ryou and I can't avoid, thanks to Father! That's all! And I am **not** having that prissy stuff in my bath!" She glared at the bottle of pink liquid in Dark Witch's hand. The witch blinked and looked down at it. 

"But Mistress, you need to smell like a girl if this is going to fool the Pharaoh and his light. Looks alone will not work." She started to uncap the bottle. Bakura snatched it away from her. 

"I said no! Don't worry about my smelling like a girl. Ryou's cursed soap has that covered already." She glared at the innocent-looking white soap. Dark Witch raised an eyebrow and picked the soap up to sniff it cautiously. 

"Hmm… roses… with just a hint of lemon… Oh yes, that's very nice. You're right, it's a very feminine smell. It also won't do at all for you."

Bakura blinked. "Huh? Why in the Shadows not?"

Dark Witch smiled gently at her. "It's Ryou's scent. Haven't you noticed? He always smells very faintly of roses. I've always wondered why. That's one mystery solved. Now if only I could work out if D Human is really as big an idiot as he sometimes seems to be…" She looked up at Bakura. "Is something wrong Mistress? You look shocked."

"I…" Bakura fidgeted uneasily. She had noticed Ryou's scent in the past, but she was stunned to realise that the soap had the same scent. Somehow, over time, she'd come to think of it just as 'Ryou's scent'. She had never wondered what caused it. But there was no way that she was going to admit it to anyone! 

"Why won't it work for me? I'd smell like a girl. Isn't that what you want?" She glared at the witch, retreating from her unsettling thoughts back into the anger that she was comfortable with.

"Like a girl, yes. Like Ryou, no." At Bakura's confused look, Dark Witch grinned wickedly. "If I let you go to the b… dance smelling like Ryou, I can guarantee that within the hour everyone else there would believe that you and Ryou were decidingly… closer… than you really are. At least…" She looked thoughtfully at Bakura. "I assume that you and he are not…"

"No we aren't!" Bakura could feel the heat in her cheeks as she snapped out her instinctive denial. She silently cursed when the speed of her denial caused Dark Witch's grin to widen. Her mind raced for a way to get them off that topic as soon as possible, but one thing puzzled her. 

"What do you mean, everyone would believe… that? How could a smell make them think something so… unbelievable?" 

Dark Witch smiled. "Think about it, dear. If you saw a cute boy and a very pretty girl attending a dance together, and then you realised that they both have the same scent…" She shrugged at Bakura's blank look. "It's a girl thing… Trust me, there isn't a girl that wouldn't think the same thing about it, and the girls would tell their dates, naturally." 

"Oh… Ra…" Bakura groaned and had a sudden urge to go and tell Ryou to forget about the dance because there was no way she was going to it. 

"Don't worry, dear, I have just what you need!" Dark Witch held out one hand, then slowly waved her other hand over it. A delicate little bottle made of pale purple glass with a glass stopper in the shape of a Key Mace appeared in the palm of her hand. She had the bottle unstopped and its clear contents poured into the bath before Bakura could protest. 

"What is that stuff?" Bakura crossed to the bath and leaned over to sniff suspiciously at the water. The overwhelmingly strong smell sent her into a coughing fit. "By the Shadows! No! No way! I am **not** getting in there!" Shaking her head, she started backing away.

Dark Witch's lips tilted into a wicked grin. "Oh yes, my dear Mistress, you most certainly are! If you don't get in willingly, I'll just have to get you in there personally. Of course, I'd probably need Ryou's help with that…" 

Bakura's eyes widened in shock. "You wouldn't…" Dark Witch raised an eyebrow and Bakura sighed. "Of course you would…" 

Moving away from the door, Bakura waited for a moment. She glared at Dark Witch when the monster remained leaning against the sink. "Well? Why are you still here?" 

Dark Witch laughed. "Oh, come now, Bakura! Surely you're not shy?" She shook her head. "I think you're forgetting something, dear Mistress. We're both female."

"Oh." Bakura blinked at that and looked away. Her hands hesitated on her belt. "But…" She mentally consigned herself to the dark void of the Shadow Realm for hesitating. If she'd been her normal self she would have stripped off without a second thought. There was just something about the situation that made her more self-conscious than usual. 

Dark Witch's smile became seductive as she gave Bakura a knowing look. "Anyway Bakura, male or female, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before."

"Huh? When have you…?" Bakura stared at her in shock.

"That time you went swimming in the Shadow Realm. Remember? I was passing by while you were getting out." Dark Witch smiled at the memory. "I never did thank the Red Archery Girl for the timing of her arrow. If she hadn't startled you, you might not have dropped your towel…" 

As Bakura spluttered indignantly, Dark Witch laughed. She headed for the door. "Since you're so nervous, I think I'll leave you to it and go help Ryou get ready instead. Don't worry about using the soap or shampoo. The fragrance I added to the water will overpower anything." She paused at the doorway and grinned at Bakura. "Just don't stay in the water too long or it will overpower you too. Then I'd have to get Ryou to help you out!" She ducked the soap that Bakura threw at her and left the room. 

Bakura sulked as she got undressed and slid into the water. The smell had faded a little but it was still cloyingly sweet and strong. She could hear Dark Witch laughing in the bedroom. Leaning back against the tub, she wondered how she'd gotten herself into such a mess. Then a thought made her sit up again. 

*Did she say she was going to help him get ready? Dark Witch… and Ryou… alone in his bedroom…* Bakura tensed. "Dark Witch! Don't you dare do anything to my light!" 

Dark Witch's laughter was not reassuring.

* * *

"There's no way I'm wearing these!" Bakura stormed out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. A pair of black lace panties and bra, the same ones that had caused so much trouble with Father that morning, were dangling from her hand. She glared at Dark Witch until a strangled sound made her gaze snap to the other side of the room where Ryou was standing in front of his wardrobe with a white shirt in his hands and a very startled expression on his face.

For a long moment, she and Ryou looked at each other in shock. Suddenly aware of how skimpy the towel was, Bakura whirled around to head back into the bathroom. Her sudden movement caused the towel to shift. She grabbed at it, managing to catch it before it fell, but she also managed to make it come undone. 

As the bathroom door slammed, Ryou leaned weakly against the wardrobe door, his eyes frozen on the place where Bakura had stood as his mind replayed what he'd just seen. 

"If only she'd been facing you at the time…"

"Hmm…" Dark Witch's words suddenly registered. "What? No! I… Dark Witch!" 

Dark Witch laughed as Ryou busied himself with looking through his wardrobe, trying to hide the fact that his face was now bright red. She was still laughing, and Ryou was still fighting his embarrassment, when the bathroom door slowly opened again. 

"Now what?" 

Dark Witch and Ryou turned in surprise at the uncharacteristically subdued voice. Bakura was standing in the doorway, dressed again in her school uniform. Her feet were bare and her long dark red hair fell in waterlogged strands over her shoulders, leaving wet patches all over her pink school jacket. She fidgeted uneasily as she withstood their silent perusal for a moment before her patience snapped. "Well? What am I supposed to do now?" She glared at Dark Witch, unable to bring herself to meet Ryou's eyes just then. 

Dark Witch looked at Ryou. "How much time do we have before the b…dance starts?"

Ryou looked at his watch and was startled to see how late it was. It had taken them longer than expected to plan and cause a distraction major enough to get Father out of the house so they could get ready. "Oh my, we should hurry! It's almost six-thirty!" 

"Quit panicking. We've plenty of time. You told me the dance doesn't start until seven." Bakura spoke gruffly, but at least she finally managed to look at Ryou.

"Yes, it does, but…" Ryou shifted uneasily as he eyed Bakura with the slightly wary, very nervous look that Bakura hated. It always meant her light had something to tell her that she wouldn't like. 

"What? Spit it out, Ryou!" She glared at her light, her embarrassment forgotten in her annoyance.

"Well… It's just that Father said he'd drive us to the dance, remember. We're supposed to be leaving here at a quarter to seven, and you need to 'arrive' before that." Ryou winced at the look Bakura gave him. "I know! I don't like it either, but Father insisted!" Thinking about it reminded Ryou of something.

"He wasn't very happy about your meeting me here." Ryou bit his lip, looking anxiously at Bakura. "I'm afraid that he's going to insist on dropping you home…"

Bakura scowled. "That could be a problem." 

Dark Witch smiled. If D Human had been there to see it, he would have shivered, warned Ryou and Bakura that she had a plan and that usually meant trouble, and then escaped before she managed to draw him into another of her wild schemes. "Not necessarily. You said that he questioned you both about 'Kura's' mother, correct?" At their nods, her smile widened. "Then all you need to do is say that Kura's mother will collect her from here. I'm sure he'll be happy with that, since he wants to meet her."

Ryou hesitated. "But… when she doesn't come…"

"What makes you think she won't?" Dark Witch's eyes gleamed with amusement. "If I can cast the Cinderella spell on Bakura, I can certainly cast an illusion to change my own appearance to that of a human!" She walked over to Bakura and slipped her arm around her shoulders, despite Bakura's attempts to pull away. "What do you think, Ryou? Don't you think I'd make the perfect mother for our sweet little Kura here?" 

Bakura snarled and finally managed to escape the surprisingly strong hold. "Don't call me that!"

As his yami stalked over to stare moodily out the window, Ryou smiled at Dark Witch and shrugged. "He hates being called 'sweet'." His expression turned thoughtful. "Do you really think you could pretend to be Kura's mother?"

Dark Witch grinned. "Red hair and all." 

Ryou nodded. "Then that's what we'll do. Is that all right with you, Bakura?"

"Whatever." Bakura stared down into the backyard and frowned. "If we're going to cast this spell, we'd better get it over with fast. Father's almost cornered Milus Radiant."

"What? Already?" Dark Witch joined Bakura and spent a few moments watching the man run around the backyard chasing the Shadow Monster that bore enough of a resemblance to a large dog to avoid any suspicion about its true nature. "He's faster than he looks."

Dark Witch moved into the middle of the room. "Come here, Bakura. Now, stand here, that's right. Stand very still and close your eyes. Now, for this to work, you need to focus on one thing. You need to think about Ryou, and your feelings for him."

"What!" Bakura's eyes snapped open and she glared at the monster. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what you think it means." Dark Witch was suddenly completely serious, all signs of her usual good humour gone. "You're doing this for a reason. You need to focus on that reason for the spell to work right. In this case, your reason is Ryou. It's as obvious…" She gently tugged on a lock of Bakura's dark red hair, causing the girl to scowl. "… as the colour of your hair." 

"Leave my hair out of this and just do the cursed spell!" Bakura glared at Dark Witch for a moment before closing her eyes. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Dark Witch sighed and shook her head. "It won't work if you're angry."

"Bakura, you don't have to do this if you really don't want to." Ryou could keep silent no longer.

Opening her eyes, Bakura glanced at her light. Their eyes met, their gazes locked. A long moment later, Bakura sighed and looked away again. "No, Ryou. I… There's a part of me that… does want to do this," she admitted softly. She fell silent, a troubled look on her face. 

Mr Bakura's voice suddenly came floating up the stairs. "Ryou! It's almost time to go! Your date should be here soon." 

Ryou winced and darted a worried glance at Bakura, who had also winced. "I…"

"Go finish getting ready, Ryou. As soon as Dark Witch has cast her spell, I'll sneak downstairs and outside, then make my arrival." Bakura smiled slightly as her light nervously bit his lip. "I'll be fine. Go." 

Nodding, Ryou did as he was told. He couldn't help giving his yami one last anxious look before going into the bathroom and closing the door. 

Bakura sighed and looked up at Dark Witch. "I'm ready. Let's do this." She closed her eyes. 

Dark Witch moved in front of Bakura and closed her eyes too. She suddenly leaned over and lightly brushed a kiss across Bakura's forehead. As she did so, there was a flash of brilliant white light. 

"What was that for?" Bakura frowned, but didn't open her eyes. 

"Just part of the spell," Dark Witch lied, smiling slightly at her mistress. In truth, although it did make the spell stronger, it wasn't really necessary. But Dark Witch hadn't been able to resist. Bakura was so out of her element in all this, and yet her whole heart had been in the spell. The monster had been able to sense it through her connection to the Shadow Magic.

"It's done." 

Bakura swallowed hard and opened her eyes. She slowly turned to look in the mirror. Her eyes widened. "Oh Ra…" Raising one hand, she grasped a lock of her hair and pulled it so she could see it without looking in the mirror. "It's… it's different. Not as dark. It… it looks like…"

"Fire. Of course it does. This spell is a heart-spell, like the one you used to become a human girl, only nowhere near as strong. With heart spells, the Shadow Magic is strengthened by a much more powerful source of magic. The magic of the heart. The emotions in the heart at the time of the spell's casting influence the effect of the spell."

Dark Witch came up behind Bakura and rested her hands lightly on the girl's bare shoulders. "If you cast such a spell out of selfishness, anger, vengeance or a desire for power, the spell will be darkened by those negative emotions. With appearance-altering spells, the hair colour comes from the emotions in the caster's heart, while the eyes reflect the soul. Your heart holds a great deal of passion and determination, but it is your growing friendship with your light that gives your heart such intensity of emotion. Without that friendship, your hair would be red, but it would be cut short and straight. It would have the colour, but not the life. With that friendship…" She lifted a lock of the fine strands of vibrant fire that fell down Bakura's back.

"The spell you cast originally was done when your heart was shadowed, so your appearance was shadowed too. But this spell was cast with your heart bathed in the light of your friendship."

She smiled as her eyes met Bakura's in the mirror. "If you don't believe me, look at your eyes and remember what I said about their reflecting your soul."

Bakura blinked and stared hard at her eyes for a moment. She tensed when she realised what she was seeing. 

"Ryou… My eyes look just like Ryou's."

"Two halves of the same soul," Dark Witch said softly. "But neither half is completely light or dark. Just as Ryou has a little darkness in his soul, so you have a little light in yours. In the end, it all balances out." Her arms went around Bakura's shoulders and she gave her mistress a gentle hug. Bakura did not resist. When the bathroom door opened, she pulled away slowly. 

Ryou emerged from the bathroom, dressed neatly in creased dark blue pants and a simple white short-sleeved shirt. He'd also changed his usual sneakers for a pair of black lace up dress shoes. His long mane of silvery-white hair seemed to glow faintly in the light. He was smiling slightly as he looked up from doing up his watch. His smile faded to a look of wide-eyed shock when he caught sight of Bakura.

She wore black ankle boots with a flared black skirt that reached to mid-thigh and a rich green silk top shot through with silver threads that caught the light as she moved. The top came down just over the waistband of her skirt and left her arms and shoulders bare. Her hair was the biggest surprise though. No longer dark red, it was now a mass of vivid red flame that rippled in waves down her back to her waist. She raised her head slightly and their eyes met. Ryou smiled at her. 

"At the risk of insulting you, Bakura, you look incredible."

Bakura smiled back, relaxed for the first time since she'd cast the spell that had turned her into a girl. 

"Thanks Ryou, you're not so bad yourself. So, what are we waiting for? Let's get this torture over with!" 

To be continued…


	9. Enlightening Conversations

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

**Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 9: Enlightening Conversations**  
By Shadow's Mirror

"Whoa! Who's the hot babe?" Joey leaned so far forward as he tried to get a better look that he almost fell off his chair. As he struggled to retain what little dignity he had, Tristan blinked at him and then tried to see who Joey was looking at.

"Babe? What are you talking abou… Whoa!" He stared in shock at the beautiful redhead standing in the doorway of the Gym. "Joey my man… I call dibs on her!" He jumped up.

"What? No way, man! I saw her first!" Joey scrambled to his feet and grabbed the back of Tristan's jacket, almost pulling him off his feet.

"Actually guys, I think Ryou saw her first." As Joey and Tristan gaped at Téa, she gestured towards the door. As they followed her gaze, their jaws practically hit the floor with their shock.

"That hot babe… arm in arm with… Ryou Bakura? Aw man, she's taken already? No way! I don't believe it!" Joey shook his head and abruptly sat down again. "I must be dreaming! Scratch that. If that hot babe's with someone else instead of me, this ain't no dream. It's a nightmare!"

"Yeah!" Tristan flopped down in the seat beside him and the two boys both sighed heavily as they stared dejectedly at their friend and the beautiful girl clinging to him in apparent nervousness.

"Ryou didn't mention that he was bringing a date. I wonder who she is?" Yugi looked at Téa. "Did he say anything to you about her?"

Téa shook her head. "Not a word, Yugi. In fact, he told me that he didn't think he'd be attending at all!" She smiled. "I guess he changed his mind."

"Can't say I blame him. If I had a girlfriend like that, I'd want to show her off too!" Joey grinned.

Yugi chuckled softly before turning to watch Ryou and the unknown girl as they slowly worked their way through the crowd towards them. "She looks… a little familiar, don't you think?"

"Hmm…" Téa studied the girl for a moment. "Now that you mention it, yes, she does. I guess we've seen her around the school."

"Oh. Yes. That will be it." Yugi smiled as Ryou and the girl finally made it over to them. "Hi!"

"Hey Ryou! Who's your friend?" Joey stood and grinned at the redhead who had shifted so she was slightly behind Ryou. She looked up at him out of wide dark brown eyes and Joey blinked at a sudden feeling of familiarity. It vanished as soon as she smiled coyly.

"I'm… Kara." Her voice was a low purr that sent a tingle running up the spine of every male who heard it. Even Yugi seemed to be affected by it because a faint tinge of colour crept into his cheeks.

"Well, pleased to meet ya Kara! I'm Joey, this here's Yugi, that's Tristan and that's Téa!" Joey smiled easily at the girl as he made the introductions, then turned a somewhat more knowing smile on Ryou. "So, Ryou, how come you didn't tell us you had a date for this party?"

"Oh… well I… That is… Um…" Ryou looked down at the floor, his cheeks flooding with colour.

"It was all rather sudden." All eyes turned to Kara and Ryou breathed a sigh of relief. "You see, Ryou's father came home unexpectedly and caught us curled up together on the couch."

Kara ignored Ryou's shocked gasp, just as she ignored the surprise on her audience's faces. She hadn't expected to enjoy herself so much, but this was too good a chance to pass up. She'd noticed the way Joey and Tristan had reacted at the sight of her with Ryou and was only too happy to be able to rub it in.

"After that, we figured there wasn't much point in hiding our relationship any longer. Isn't that right, sweetie?" Kara wound her arms around Ryou's waist and pressed against him, purring the question in his ear.

"Oh my…" Ryou murmured the words so faintly only Kara could hear him. "Um… I…"

Before he could say another word, the music started up. Kara grinned. "Ooh! My favourite song! Come on, sweetie! I can't hear it from all the way over here! Bye everyone! Nice meeting you!" With an airy smile, Kara whisked her very flustered light away.

Joey, Tristan, Yugi and Téa all blinked at the abrupt departure. "Okay… that was weird." Joey looked at the others, who nodded in agreement.

"Definitely! She's got him right where she wants him! Obeying her every command!" Tristan paused for a moment, then sighed and sank back into his chair. "Lucky guy!"

"Here, here!" Joey held out his paper cup. Tristan bumped his against it in a salute and they both drank their punch in one gulp. Then they both shuddered.

"Oh man! That's awful! What did they make this out of? Old socks?" Joey eyed his cup with a grimace and then looked thoughtfully at Tristan. "Hey Tristan, you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Think so." Grinning identical evil grins, they stood up. "We just have to take care of something." Tristan grinned at Yugi and Téa.

"Yeah. We'll be back in a bit. Be good now." Joey winked at Yugi and Téa before he and Tristan sauntered casually away.

Yugi sighed. "Now what are they up too?"

Téa shook her head. "Knowing them, we're better off not knowing!" She smiled at Yugi. "Feel like dancing?"

"Sure, Téa!"

The two friends moved on to the dance floor. As they neared the stage area where the band was set up, Yugi glanced around, a slight frown on his face. "Um… Téa… Can you see Ryou and Kara anywhere?"

Téa looked around and frowned too for a moment, before she suddenly laughed softly. "That was probably just an excuse to get Ryou alone! Kara really seemed taken with him, don't you think?"

Yugi nodded slowly, although there was an uncertain expression in his eyes. "I guess…"

Téa paused and lightly touched her friend's shoulder. "Yugi? What's wrong? Aren't you happy that Ryou's found someone he likes?"

"Of course I am, Téa! It's just that… we don't know her and we don't know how long Ryou's known her and… Don't you think it's strange that Ryou's never mentioned her to us before?" Yugi suddenly smiled sheepishly. "I'm being silly, aren't I?"

Téa bit her lip, suddenly looking worried. "Maybe not. You're right. We don't know her. After everything's that happened, it's only natural that we should be wary of strangers. Especially you and Ryou. But… Ryou's always been very private. Maybe he's just kept her a secret for some reason."

She and Yugi looked at each other for a moment, remembering how Ryou had never mentioned losing track of time or finding himself in places with no memory of how he'd come to be there. He'd proven to be very good at keeping secrets.

Yugi suddenly smiled. "Maybe he guessed how Joey and Tristan would react when they saw her." Téa laughed and he soon joined in as they started to dance.

- - -

"'Kara'?" Ryou smiled slightly as he moved into a relatively quiet corner between two potted plants.

'Kara' looked away. "Yeah… well… I couldn't very well introduce myself as 'Kura' now, could I?"

"No, I suppose not. That was quick thinking."

"Just don't forget and call me by the wrong name…" Kara was distracted by something on the dance floor nearby. Ryou looked and spotted Yugi and Téa.

"I won't. My, they seem to be having quite a serious discussion, don't they?"

Kara sighed heavily as she watched the Pharaoh's light and the girl converse. "Yeah, and I bet I know what it's about. It's no good, Ryou. They're already suspicious."

Ryou smiled gently at her as he rested his hand comfortingly on her arm. "Of course they are. Our track record with strangers isn't exactly the best, after all. They're concerned for my safety." His eyes widened, worry clouding them slightly as he looked over her shoulder. "Perhaps with good reason..."

"Huh? What do you…" Kara trailed off in surprise as a large masculine hand suddenly caressed her bare shoulder. She whirled around and came face to chest with a tall young man she recognised as being Hura Mishigowa one of the school bullies. He'd given both Ryou and Yugi hard times, before their yamis had intervened a few months earlier. Her eyes narrowed. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a conversation?"

"I think of it more as saving a beautiful woman from being bored to death by a geek. Come on. You can show your appreciation to me on the dance floor." Hura grasped her wrist and tried to pull her away from Ryou.

Kara glared down at the hand on her arm and refused to move. "Let. Me. Go. Now!"

"Aw, come on beautiful, don't be like that!" He sneered at Ryou. "Why would you want this little kid when you could have me?" He puffed his chest out.

"Because Ryou actually has brains between his ears instead of empty space." While Hura was still working out that he'd just been insulted, Kara made a subtle movement that resulted in Hura lying on the floor in pain.

Kara glared at the bully and turned back to Ryou, smiling as she continued to act out her part for everyone watching. "Ryou, sweetie, why don't we go somewhere a little more… private?" she purred, trying not to laugh at the shocked look on Ryou's face.

"Um… all right. How about we go get something to drink?"

- - -

They were heading for the punch table when Tristan and Joey intercepted them.

"Ryou, trust me on this one, man, you don't want any of that stuff." Joey shook his head.

"Yeah. It was bad enough before we spiked it." Tristan grinned at Joey, who grinned back.

"You spiked it? Oh my…" Ryou went pale. "With… alcohol?"

"What? Are you nuts? And get into trouble for it? Nah, we just added a couple of quarts of tomato juice, that's all." Joey shrugged. "We like to think of it as 'performing a public service'. That punch was awful. Heck, it probably tastes better now!" Tristan nodded in agreement.

"I see… Well, thank you for the warning then." Ryou was trying not to smile, but he couldn't quite manage it.

As she and Ryou left Joey and Tristan to their task of warning the innocent away from the punch, Kara glanced at her light. "Ryou… your friends are very strange."

Ryou smiled at her. "You mean, 'our' friends. And yes, they can be." He looked back and suddenly chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Apparently Hura decided not to listen to their 'warning' about the punch."

Kara glanced back and grinned. "I've never seen anyone quite that shade of green before."

- - -

"I swear, Ryou. If one more guy comes up to me and starts talking to me or asks me to dance, as if you weren't standing right beside me, I am going to scream. Either that, or I'll send every male in this school to the Shadow Realm as soon as I get my powers back!"

Kara glared at the latest in a long line of boys who had tried to separate her from Ryou. He'd ended up being merely ignored since he'd had the good sense to apologise and leave when she'd pointed out that she was already with someone. Unlike quite a few of the others. "There are a lot of idiots in this school."

Ryou smiled slightly. "I know. Still, you're doing just fine." He blinked when Kara suddenly turned her glare onto him. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"These jerks are flirting with me and you just stand there looking lost. You're not even trying to stand up for yourself!" Kara shook her head. "Don't you even care that they're trying to…" She suddenly froze, her eyes widening with shock as she realised what she was thinking. "Oh Ra… I have to get out of here!" Whirling, she started through the crowd before Ryou could stop her.

Ryou raised one hand and for a moment he looked as though he was going to call out to her, but then he sighed and his hand dropped down to his side again. A sad expression flickered across his face for a moment before he turned and headed through the crowd to where he could see Yugi and the others talking and laughing together.

Téa saw him coming and nudged Yugi, who hurried to his friend's side. "Ryou! What is it? Is something wrong?" When Ryou tried to smile, Joey spoke up.

"Don't even bother trying, Ryou. We're not gonna buy your 'everything's fine' routine. Not this time!" The blonde-haired teen steered Ryou into a chair and leaned over him. "Now spill! We can see something's upset you." He paused for a moment. "It's that girl, right? What did she do? Dump you for someone else? She's an idiot. You want me to pummel him for you?"

Ryou blinked and a small-but-genuine smile settled on his lips. "That won't be necessary, Joey, but thank you for the offer. Kara didn't dump me, she just… needed some time alone."

He sighed and lowered his head. "We didn't really want to come here tonight, but Father insisted. I… I knew she'd attract some attention, but I didn't expect…"

"You didn't think you'd have to fend off every guy in the place, right?" Joey grinned as Ryou blinked up at him. "What? You think we haven't noticed the steady stream of guys heading over to you for the past hour? We're not blind, you know." He shrugged. "Not surprising really, she's one hot babe. What? Don't give me that look, Yug! I'm just telling it like it is!"

Ryou's small smile grew slightly. "Yes, she is very pretty. But… she hates all the fuss. I'm afraid she's mad at me because I haven't been more… assertive."

"What? Does she really think these clowns would take notice of anything you said? All they care about is her opinion of them." Joey grinned and Yugi nodded.

"Yes, Téa has the same problem whenever she and I are on the dance floor. My being so short doesn't help either." He chuckled and Ryou smiled a little more. "They just push me aside. So Téa does exactly what we've noticed Kara doing."

"I give them a piece of my mind and then I ignore them and give Yugi my undivided attention." Téa winked at Ryou. "Honestly, it's the only way to deal with them."

Ryou nodded, but he still looked sad. "Kara's still upset with me though."

Téa put her arm around Ryou's shoulders. "Don't worry, Ryou. She probably just needs to let off a little steam. I get like that too sometimes."

"Man, I'll say!" Joey shrinked back as Téa glared at him. "What? You said it! I was just agreeing with you!"

Téa turned back to Ryou, pointedly ignoring Joey. "She'll come back when she's calmed down."

"H…how do you know?" Ryou asked softly. Téa smiled.

"Because she'd be a fool not to, and if she were a fool, she wouldn't have ignored all those other guys to stay with you."

- - -

Kara slipped outside and paused for a moment to take a few deep breaths. Her heart was pounding and her mind whirling with unfamiliar thoughts. 'I can't believe I almost said that to him! No, I can't believe I actually thought it! What am I doing here? Why am I putting myself through this?' She went down the steps and sat down on the edge of the raised garden bed that ran along the outside of the school gym.

''Don't you even care that they're trying to take me away from you?' Why would I say that? It's not like anyone ever could. But… just then… that was how I… felt… As though he didn't care if I stayed with him or not. But then again… why would he? It's not like I'm really his girlfriend. I'm not even really a girl! He knows that. I know that. But… somehow… what started as an act to fool his friends and Father, now… It just feels so… real.' Kara sighed. 'Cursed spell. The sooner I'm back to normal, the better! This spell's really messing with my mind!'

"Um… excuse me."

The voice made Kara jump. She blinked and looked up in surprise at the two girls standing in front of her. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed them arrive. "Oh! Who…?"

The brunette smiled tentatively. "Hi. My friend and I were just wondering… Aren't you… here with Ryou Bakura?" The last came out in a rush and the girl blushed, clearly embarrassed. Her friend, an attractive girl with dark blue hair, sighed.

"I'm sorry. I told her not to bother you but she's annoyingly stubborn."

Her friend frowned at her. "Hey! You wanted to know just as much as I did!" The blue haired girl shifted uncomfortably. The brunette looked back at Kara. "It's just that… when we saw you with him, we really wanted to meet you."

Kara blinked. "Meet… me? Why?" Much to Kara's surprise, the brunette sat down beside her.

"Are you kidding? You're the one everyone's talking about!" Kara looked away, disappointed although she wasn't sure why. She was about to speak when the brunette's next words took her breath away.

"You're the one Ryou chose as his date tonight!" Kara blinked at her in shock. The brunette smiled and leaned forward, an oddly eager expression on her face. "We were wondering… how did you do it?"

"W…what do you mean?" Kara was startled. These girls were asking about… Ryou?

The brunette's expression was slightly wistful now. "Well, he's always been so… quiet. Kind of distant, you know. Sort of sad, too. He never takes any notice of us when we tried to get his attention. It's like he doesn't know."

"Know what?"

The brunette blinked and stared at Kara. "Are you serious? He's only one of the cutest guys in school! And he's always so polite, and kind, and sweet. He never has a cruel word to say about anyone and he's always happy to help whenever someone needs it. I mean, one time, my book bag split and everything went flying. Everyone else just walked around me, but not Ryou. He stopped to help me pick up my things. Then he smiled at me. It was the first time I'd ever seen him smile." She sighed and her eyes looked dreamy, until her friend nudged her. "Oh… anyway, he's a really good duelist too! But best of all, he doesn't have the ego that most of the other guys around here have. With them, they know how good looking or talented they are. But with Ryou… it's like he doesn't realise how cool he is. Or how cute."

The girl giggled and then suddenly gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth as she blinked at Kara. "Oh! I'm sorry! I guess I shouldn't be saying all this… I mean… he is your boyfriend after all… You don't need to worry, we all know he'd never look twice at anyone else while he was with someone. He's not that kind of boy. None of us would ever try anything… well… maybe Shiana, but then again she's been trying to get his attention for years and she hasn't succeeded once! I'm really making a mess of this, aren't I?" she winced as Kara's stunned look finally registered.

Her friend grinned. "Don't mind Nikki, she's harmless. Obsessed with Ryou, but harmless."

Nikki frowned at her. "Oh, like I'm the only one? At least I didn't chase him down the street with a bunch of other fangirls!"

The blue-haired girl blushed. "Hey! I explained about that! It was just a case of mistaken identity! We thought it was Ryou, but it turned out that he'd been at school all day." She sighed and a dreamy smile flickered across her face. "Whoever the guy was, he sure looked like Ryou though. Only… his beautiful hair was a bit wilder… and he was cuter."

"Shala! No one is cuter than Ryou!" Nikki leaped to her feet and glared at her friend for a moment before both girls suddenly grinned at each other. "Oh, listen to us, we sound like…"

"Duke Devlin's fangirls!" Both girls said it together and immediately burst into laughter. They were laughing so hard that they didn't notice when Kara slipped past them and went back inside.

- - -

She stood in the shadows, trying to take in what she was seeing. 'Those weird girls were right. How come I didn't see it before? Look at them all… Trying to catch Ryou's attention, glancing at him out of the corners of their eyes, watching him without any attempt at subtlety, smiling at him whenever he looks their way… I thought the guys were bad, but these girls are worse!' Her hands clenched into fists as she noticed one girl making a beeline for Ryou. When Ryou smiled at the girl and started talking to her, Kara suddenly found herself moving through the crowd towards them.

'What… am I doing? It's not like she's any kind of… threat… But… he's my light! How dare she flirt with my light!'

Yugi's eyes widened as he spotted Kara coming up behind Shiana. Reading the signs in the girl's stormy eyes, Joey and Tristan quickly moved out of the line of fire. Téa, who had been frowning at Shiana, smiled slightly as Kara tapped the girl on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, could you move? You're in my way." Kara's eyes flashed as the girl turned to look at her and sniffed before turning away again, ignoring her. Kara hated being ignored.

"So how about that dance, Ryou?" Shiana smiled confidently at the boy.

Kara tensed as she glared at the girl, making a mental note to consign her to the Shadow Realm as soon as she got her powers back.

Ryou smiled slightly as he stood. "I'm sorry Shiana, but I'm afraid that my date is the only one I want to dance with tonight." He brushed past the stunned girl and offered his arm to Kara. She was the only one who saw the nervous plea in his eyes. Without hesitation, she slipped her arm into his. He smiled at her and she blinked. She saw him smile so rarely…

Kara was still slightly dazed when she realised that she and Ryou were on the dance floor. "Um… Ryou… I…"

Ryou smiled at her. "All you have to do is sway to the music. Just for a little while, then we can sit down again."

"Just while that girl's looking, huh?" As colour flooded his cheeks, a weight suddenly lifted from Kara's heart. Smiling, she reached out and took his hand in hers. Her eyes met his as he blinked at her in surprise. "Why don't we show them all what they're missing?" There was a glint in her eyes that Ryou knew meant trouble.

"All?" Ryou frowned slightly, confused. "What do you… Oh!" He gasped as Kara suddenly moved closer, slipping her arms around his waist. She rested her head against his chest and sighed softly. "K… Kara? What are you doing?" Ryou's arms went instinctively around her.

"Just play along and we shouldn't be bothered by anyone else tonight." Kara smirked, but her smile faded as Ryou held her lightly. It should have felt strange and yet… somehow it felt… right.

"I'm sorry, Ryou. What I said to you earlier… I didn't mean it. I was a fool to think those guys would have listened to you. Just like I was a fool to think that girl would listen to me." Her voice was so soft that Ryou could barely hear it.

"I don't think you're a fool. How about we forget about everything and just… enjoy the rest of the evening?" Ryou's voice was equally as soft.

"Sounds good."

As they stood swaying to the music, they ignored all of the guys watching Kara and the girls watching Ryou. They even ignored Joey's wide grin as he gave Ryou two thumbs up.

"You know Kara, maybe tonight won't be so bad after all," Ryou said softly.

"Yeah. Maybe. There is one thing that would make it better though."

"Oh? What's that?"

Kara pulled away slightly and grinned at her light. "I brought your deck with me. I bet Yugi brought his too."

Ryou sighed and smiled wryly. "Yes, somehow that wouldn't surprise me at all."

To be continued...


	10. Back to Normal

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 10: Back to Normal  
By Shadow's Mirror

"So, how was the dance? I bet you enjoyed yourselves!" Mr Bakura smiled at the two teenagers as they both climbed into the backseat. 

Kura's eyes sparkled and Ryou inwardly braced himself, half suspecting what was coming. "Not really. The guys kept bothering me and the girls kept bothering Ryou. Still, it was okay once we started dueling."

"D… dueling?" Mr Bakura stared at them in the rear vision mirror. Kura smiled at him.

"Oh yes. Ryou lost spectacularly to Yugi four times in a row. I ended up dueling Joey just to give Ryou a break. He was hardly a challenge, but it was still more interesting than dancing." 

"I… see…"

Mr Bakura didn't say another word all the way home. Kura and Ryou stayed silent too; both lost in their thoughts about the evening and how it really hadn't been as bad as they'd thought it would be. Even Kura had to admit that she'd enjoyed defeating Joey six times straight. 

* * *

They'd been home about ten minutes when the doorbell rang. "Ah! This must be your mother, Kura!" Mr Bakura was all smiles as he went to answer the door. Trading glances and trying not to laugh, the two teenagers followed him into the hall. When the door opened, they stared in stunned amazement at the woman standing on the front step. If they hadn't known it was Dark Witch, they would never have recognised her!

Her gold dress had been replaced by a conservative straight black skirt and jacket over a crisp white shirt, while her ankle boots were now plain black shoes with low heels. Instead of its usual blue-black shade, Dark Witch's hair was now a vivid red just like Kura's, but she had tied it back into a long ponytail with a simple black ribbon. She also wore a pair of glasses with silver frames. The lenses must have been tinted or something because her eyes now looked as though they were an ordinary brown instead of their unusual purple-blue colour. Most surprising of all though, her long Elven ears now looked human!

"Ah, you must be Kura's mother, Mrs…" He held out his hand. 

"And you must be dear Ryou's father, Mr Bakura. Ryou has told me so much about you." The slightest of smiles flickered across her face as she turned to smile fondly at Ryou, ignoring the offered hand in the process. 

"Um… yes… well… I must say it was certainly a pleasure to meet your charming daughter." He tried to smile but his expression slipped as Dark Witch raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Charming? You wouldn't say that if you'd had to get her ready for the b… dance tonight. She fought every step of the way. She absolutely hates that kind of thing. I have no idea what possessed her to go to this one… Or Ryou for that matter, since I know such events make him so uncomfortable. It was a real shame though. They were so looking forward to seeing that movie and it was their last chance to do so." She sighed heavily.

Ryou and Kura glanced at each other, a silent message passing between them. It was time. They'd come up with a convincing reason why Kura wouldn't be coming over anymore. Now it was time to put the plan into action. Lowering their heads, they both sighed. Loudly. 

"I… I'm afraid I don't understand. Surely they can go to the movie some other time. Tomorrow perhaps…" Mr Bakura eyed the two teenagers in confusion.

Dark Witch acted surprised. "Oh! Didn't Ryou tell you? My husband works overseas and Kura and I are joining him tomorrow. This is Kura's last night here."

"Oh… I… I didn't realise…" Mr Bakura shot a guilty look at his son, remembering how reluctant they'd been to go to the dance and how he'd practically ordered them to. 

Dark Witch smiled sadly at Ryou and Kura. "Well, at least you two got to spend the evening together. I know how much that meant to you." Mr Bakura looked even guiltier. "Come along now Kura, say your good-byes. It's time for us to go. We still have packing to do."

According to their 'script' Kura made a sobbing sound and threw herself at Ryou, burying her face into his chest. Ryou quickly lowered his head, biting his lip so he didn't laugh out loud. He could feel her shaking, but he knew it was with laughter rather than tears. 

Although a part of Ryou hated causing his father such guilt, the rest of him knew that it was fair punishment for the way he and Kura had been treated over the past few days. Although he didn't normally believe in punishment, he could not deny Kura the opportunity. It was either that, or he'd have to talk Kura out of sending Father to the Shadow Realm first thing in the morning, when his yami was back to normal.

Dark Witch cleared her throat. "All right, you two. One goodbye kiss and then Kura has to go." Ryou and Kura tensed. That definitely had not been part of the plan! Dark Witch had apparently decided that the script needed spicing up a little. 

Ryou looked down as Kura slowly pulled away. There was a moment's hesitation and then Ryou was startled to feel Kura's lips brush lightly over his forehead. "Goodbye Ryou." 

"G…goodbye Kura." 

* * *

Dark Witch put her arm around Kura's shoulders as they walked down the path. 

"That was not funny, Dark Witch." 

The Shadow Monster smiled slightly. "I didn't expect you to be so eager to take me literally." 

As they walked down the street, Dark Witch kept her arm around the girl's shoulders, expecting to have it pushed aside any moment and surprised when Bakura showed no discomfort over it. "So, was it worth it?" she asked softly.

"What? The… kiss?" 

"No. The b… dance." She filed away for later the fact that Bakura had thought of the kiss first. 

Bakura was silent for so long, Dark Witch thought she wasn't going to answer. "Yes. It was."

They stopped at the corner. "So… now what?" Bakura looked down at herself. "This spell… Ryou said it would wear off at midnight, right?"

Dark Witch sighed and shook her head. "Ryou really shouldn't believe everything he reads in fairytales. Midnight was just the most convenient time to lift the spell the last time it was cast. But, naturally, it got added to the story as though it were important! The truth is, I can lift the spell at any time. Right now if you wish." She waited while Bakura thought it over. 

"Yeah… I guess that would be best. I can't really climb in this skirt."

"Climb?"

"There's a tree outside Ryou's window. It's how I used to get in and out of the house at night back when I…" Bakura fell silent, looking away as she shifted uneasily. 

"Back when you used to borrow his form while his soul slept." Dark Witch lightly brushed Bakura's hair off her face, smiling at the girl when she looked up in surprise. "I could magic you back into Ryou's room, you know. It would save you from climbing." 

"More magic? No thanks. I'd rather duel Kaiba."

Dark Witch laughed softly. "You know Bakura, magic does have its uses." 

"Oh, I know that. It's just that my track record with it hasn't been too good lately." Bakura scowled. "Mainly due to that cursed magician and his cursed book of child's tricks." She gasped as Dark Witch suddenly pulled her into a hug. "Dark Witch!" 

The Shadow Monster held the girl close and was mildly surprised at how quickly Bakura stopped struggling against the embrace. "I don't always see eye to eye with the Dark Magician, it's true. But even though I have been known to curse his name and yell insults at him and put sneezing powder in his hat, there is one thing that I have never done. I have never underestimated him. He is far stronger than you realise. The same is true for that book of his. Curse him by all means, but don't ever doubt his power, or that of the Book of Secret Arts."

Bakura slowly pulled away and Dark Witch let her go. "You… like him." Bakura scowled at the witch, feeling oddly betrayed. 

Dark Witch laughed and shook her head. "It's not that simple, Bakura. I'll admit that he does have his moments, but for the most part, no, I would not say that I 'like' him. I do respect him though. He earned my respect a very long time ago. Now come, my mistress! Enough idle talk! The hour grows late and Ryou will be wondering where you are." Bakura could not deny the truth of that. Her light had always been something of a worrier. 

As they started back to the house, Bakura looked up at Dark Witch, noting how serious she looked. There even seemed to be a slight hint of sadness in her face. "So… what did the Dark Magician do to earn your respect?" 

The witch looked down at her and she could clearly see the sorrow in her eyes. "Ask me anything but that, my mistress, and I will answer you truly. But that answer is not mine to tell." Bakura could get no more from her than that. 

* * *

One minute, Dark Witch was keeping a look out for Mr Bakura, the next she heard an ominous crack from behind her, followed by a stifled cry. 

The witch whirled, her spear appearing in her hands, but it was too late. Bakura hit the ground with a sickening crack and lay still. 

"No!" Dark Witch gasped as she ran to the girl and knelt down by her side. She felt ill as she noticed the awkward angle of Bakura's left arm and the bloody cuts and gashes on her bare arms and legs. But it was the large gash above Bakura's left ear, and the paleness of the girl's face, that made her start to tremble.

Grasping her spear tightly in one hand, Dark Witch placed her other hand lightly on Bakura and summoned her power. They shimmered faintly and then were gone.

* * *

"Ryou! She's hurt!" 

Ryou hurried out of the bathroom at Dark Witch's urgent words. He gasped when he saw Bakura lying still and pale on the floor with Dark Witch kneeling by his side. "What…? How…?" He dropped to the ground on Bakura's other side and carefully felt for a pulse. 

"She was climbing the tree to your window. The… the branch broke. She f…fell." Dark Witch took a shuddering breath and fought desperately to pull herself together, for Ryou's sake. 

"Help me get her onto the bed." Dark Witch silently touched Ryou's hand and motioned him back. Her eyes flashed and Bakura floated up and over the bed, then lightly down until she was lying on it. Then it was her turn to step back and watch as Ryou bustled around making Bakura as comfortable as he could and dressing her wounds. He was just dabbing some antiseptic on the head wound when Bakura groaned and opened her eyes. 

"W… what happened? Ryou?" She looked up at her light, confusion filling her eyes when Ryou gave her a watery smile, his own eyes filling with tears. 

"You'll be all right, Bakura. You just have to rest until dawn, then you'll be fine." He paused as a thought struck him, then turned to Dark Witch. "This won't affect…" She quickly shook her head and he sighed in relief. "Good."

Dark Witch came to stand beside the bed. She lightly brushed the hair off Bakura's face, then did the same to Ryou. She smiled at them. "You're safe now, both of you. I'll enchant your father's sleep so he will not wake until after dawn. He will not disturb you. Try to rest." 

"You're… going?" Bakura seemed oddly reluctant to voice her question. Dark Witch bent down and lightly kissed her forehead, then Ryou's. "Yes, my dear one. I must. My task here is done and I can feel the Shadow Realm growing impatient with my continued absence." 

"All right. Take care and don't worry. I'll look after Bakura." Ryou hugged her and she closed her eyes as she held the boy close. 

"I know you will, my sweet one. Just as you always have." Lingering just long enough to stroke Bakura's cheek, Dark Witch opened a portal of black shadows and passed through it. The portal closed, leaving Bakura and Ryou alone. 

For a moment, Ryou stood by the bed, his hand resting lightly on Bakura's. Then he turned away. "Ryou?" Bakura's voice held an oddly vulnerable note that tugged on Ryou's heart. He smiled over his shoulder at his yami. 

"I'm just going to get changed. I'll be right back."

* * *

Ryou lay on his bed with Bakura nestled safely in his arms, her light even breathing letting Ryou know that she still slept peacefully. Ryou was tired too, but at the same time he was unable to sleep. He looked up at the window and sighed softly. It was dawn. 

As the first light of day crept through the window, Bakura began to glow with a faint golden light. She stirred and her eyes opened. She blinked sleepily up at Ryou and he smiled at her. "It's time." 

"I know." As the glow brightened, Bakura suddenly did something that she very rarely did. She smiled sweetly at her light. Then she did something even rarer. She snuggled against him. "Don't leave me alone," she whispered sleepily.

"I won't," Ryou promised softly.

When Ryou's father came to wake up his son, he found the boy lying in a deep sleep on top of the covers. He also found a girl's school uniform lying on the bed next to Ryou, laid out as though someone had been wearing it and then dissolved into thin air, leaving the uniform behind. 

* * *

In Bakura's soulroom, Bakura and Ryou blinked sleepily at each other as Father started shaking Ryou's physical body awake.

"What in the Shadows is he going on about?" Bakura complained as he closed his eyes again.

"Um… something about a girl's uniform and… wanting to know what I was doing with it," Ryou replied with a small yawn as he shifted to a more comfortable position. 

Their eyes suddenly snapped open as the words penetrated their sleep-fogged minds. 

"Oh dear…" Ryou looked at his yami questioningly. "Any ideas?" 

"Give me a minute. Never mind. Just give me control. I'll deal with it." Bakura sighed as he reluctantly left his nice, warm bed to deal with Mr Bakura's latest Ryou-induced panic attack. 

Ryou smiled contentedly as he went back to sleep.

Everything was back to normal. 

* * *

__

Meanwhile, in the Shadow Realm…

The dull thud of a spear hitting someone on the head echoed through the main hall of the Castle of Dark Illusions. It was immediately followed by a male voice. 

"Ow! What was that for?" D Human rubbed his head and frowned unhappily at Dark Witch, who glared back at him. 

"'The tale will vanish into obscurity in no time.' Does that ring a bell?" 

He blinked and then winced. "You're never going to let me forget about that, are you? So I made a… small miscalculation… There's no need to go hitting people over the head because of it! Hey! Are you listening to me? Dark Witch? Dark Witch!" The woman had turned and was already halfway out the door. "You just got back! Where are you going now?" 

"I have to see an idiot about a book." The door closed behind her with a bang. 

D Human sighed. "Translation, she's off to see the magician. I'd better get started on dinner. Revenge always makes her hungry." Still muttering to himself, he headed for the kitchen. 

* * *

Dark Witch strode purposefully through the corridors of the tower where the Dark Magician lived. Her eyes blazed with fiery determination and she didn't blink as a figure stepped in front of her, holding up her staff threateningly. 

"Hey! You can't just barge in here and… ahh!" Dark Magician Girl cried out as Dark Witch raised a hand and swept it through the air, sending the magician's assistant flying. She hit the wall and crumpled to the ground, groaning softly. "There was no need to do that…" she muttered as Dark Witch passed by without a second glance. 

The Dark Magician looked up from the book he was reading, as his door was all but blasted off its hinges. "Hello, Dark Witch. Were you looking for me?" 

As she strode towards him, a wary look entered his eyes. "Oh dear. Apparently you were." He stood up as she approached. "So, what …" The sound of a dull thud echoed through the room. "… have I done this time?" he finished softly as he rubbed his head. He was much stronger than Dark Witch, so she hadn't hurt him, but he really didn't want to tell her so. Knowing her, she'd probably call in reinforcements. Blue Eyes White Dragon-sized reinforcements. He'd just finished repairing the damage from the last time.

He blinked at her. "You might have warned me. I could have put on my hat. I assume you think I deserved that?" 

"Don't play games with me." The furious hiss in her voice caused the Dark Magician to look surprised. "I know what you did."

He blinked at her again. "Um… I've done quite a few things, actually. Could you possibly be a little more specific?"

Her eyes blazed. "'Quick Make up Tips from Cinderella's Fairy Godmother'. Specific enough for you?" 

"Oh. Yes. Quite." A loud and very familiar roar came from downstairs. The Dark Magician sighed. 

"Would you mind if I went outside to get blasted this time? It's just that I haven't quite perfected my spell for getting scorch marks off floors and walls…" 

To be continued…


	11. Rain, Rain, Go Away

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Text in italics indicates a sound effect. *Text* indicates a character's thoughts.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: If anyone wants to see a picture of Ryou and 'Kura'/'Kara' from the previous few chapters, I've added one to the archive on my own site. The link to my site is at the top of my bio/author page but I've also added a direct link to the picture. It's at the end of my bio ^_^

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 11: Rain, Rain, Go Away   
By Shadow's Mirror

The sky was clouded over by a menacing black veil from which the rain streamed down in seemingly endless torrents. It had been raining for eighteen solid hours and the backyard of the Bakura house had puddles over four inches deep in some places. Luckily, they were on fairly high ground, otherwise the house would have been in danger of flooding. Instead, it was merely in danger of being destroyed by battling Shadow Monsters, courtesy of a thoroughly bored yami. 

Ryou winced as Bakura's Master Kyonshee delivered a powerful kick to his Dark King of the Abyss, sending the weaker monster flying across the living room until he crashed into the wall. As he sank defeated to the floor, the vase on the table next to him wobbled dangerously. Luckily the Dark King had fast reflexes. With a sheepish smile at Ryou, he carefully steadied the vase before vanishing back to the Shadow Realm. 

Ryou looked over at Bakura and sighed. "Can I concede defeat yet? If this goes on much longer, something is going to get broken!"

Bakura glared at his light. "No, you can't! We haven't finished our duel yet! Now hurry up! It's your turn." 

As Ryou drew a card, he tried another tactic. "Why don't we finish the duel without using Shadow Magic? That way, there won't be any danger of anything being destroyed and we can duel for as long as you like!" He smiled hopefully at his yami. "How does that sound?" 

"Like you're desperate. Now play your card already!" Bakura folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. 

Ryou sighed and looked at the card in his hand. He blinked and looked up to study the field. Bakura had five monsters and a Stop Defense card out. Ryou had no cards in play. Points-wise, Bakura was currently on 3,050 life points while Ryou was down to 1,020. It didn't look good. Ryou sighed again. "You promised me that once I won a duel, we would stop playing," he quietly reminded his yami. Bakura smirked and nodded, confident that wouldn't happen. Ryou calmly took his turn. 

"First, I play Change of Heart." Bakura winced as the pretty female half-angel/half-demon appeared. He knew what was coming. He wasn't disappointed. "Change of Heart! Take over Master Kyonshee!" The Zombie jerked as Ryou's powerful magic card possessed him, changing his allegiance so he would fight on Ryou's side for the rest of that turn. "Now, Master Kyonshee! Destroy Mammoth Graveyard!" Ryou pointed to the weakest of Bakura's four remaining monsters. 

As the Zombie moved in to defeat the skeletal mammoth, Bakura scowled at Ryou. "Well, that was a wasted turn. You only got the weakest of my monsters! You might have just decreased my life points to 2,500, but next turn, I'll finish you." Ryou merely smiled slightly. 

"My turn isn't over yet," he quietly reminded his yami. Bakura frowned; suddenly feeling uneasy as Ryou carefully placed another card on the field. Bakura expected it to be a monster card, so received quite a shock when he saw what it was. "I play Dark Hole!"

"What? No!" Bakura stared at the card in horror, then grimaced as he waved his hand. Immediately, a Dark Hole formed over the field. It sucked all of the monsters inside and then vanished. Bakura glared at his light. "You got lucky with that one. But you still can't get me. Even without any defense for my life points, none of your monsters are strong enough to take me out entirely."

"That's true," Ryou admitted quietly. "At least… not on their own." Bakura gasped as Ryou laid down the last two cards in his hand. "I play Dark Elf in attack mode and I equip her with the magic card, Black Pendant! Dark Elf! Attack!" 

Bakura could only watch in shock as Ryou's monster, one of the strongest in his deck with 2,000 attack points, placed the magical pendant around her neck. The Pendant increased her power to 2,500. Although Dark Elf required 1,000 of Ryou's own life points to attack, that still left him with 20, while her attack completely wiped out Bakura's remaining points! He'd lost the duel!

Ryou blinked as his yami started twitching. "Bakura? Are you all right?" 

"I was just defeated… by you! Of course I'm not all right!" Bakura glared at his light for a moment before he sighed and waved his hand, removing all evidence of the duel from sight. "So much for dueling…" He eyed his light hopefully. "You're not really going to hold me to that silly promise, are you?" 

"Yes." Ryou smiled as his yami sighed again. "Tell you what, Bakura. I'm going over to Yugi's this afternoon. I'm sure Yami is as bored with all this rain as you are. Perhaps he'll agree to a duel." Bakura smirked, cheering up at the thought. "In the meantime, I have homework to do." Bakura's smile faded and he scowled at his light. 

"Great. Which leaves me with nothing to do except stare out at the rain..." 

"Well, you could always work on some new strategies to try out on Yami." Ryou smiled as Bakura's eyes gleamed at the suggestion. 

* * *

Within an hour, Bakura was bored again. He'd worked out three new strategies to defeat the Pharaoh and was confident that he'd win against anything the Pharaoh threw at him, but there were still several hours to go before they could leave for the game shop. "I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored." He paced restlessly up and down the length of the bedroom until Ryou sighed and turned away from his schoolbooks.

"Bakura! I can't concentrate with you pacing and muttering like that! If you have to do that, could you possibly do it downstairs or outside or something? Please?" Bakura sighed at the pleading look in his light's eyes. 

"Fine. I'll go outside. In the pouring rain."

Ryou smiled wryly. "Actually, I was thinking of the back porch. It's drier." 

* * *

Bakura was still sulking when he stomped outside onto the covered porch. *Sure, it's dry, but it's cold out here. Not that I feel the cold, but still…* He frowned. *It wasn't very light-like of Ryou to send me outside as if I was some… annoying pet or something!* 

He folded his arms and scowled out at the driving rain. *Cursed weather! If this keeps up, Ryou will get soaked going to the Pharaoh's light's. Then he'll probably get sick or something. Great. Just what I need. A sick light. He'll have to stay home, which means Yami and I won't get to duel after all.* His scowl intensified at the thought. 

*I have to do something. But what? It's not like I can change the… weather…* Bakura blinked. *Or maybe I can. Where's that card?* Within moments, Bakura had summoned the Book of Secret Arts from the Shadow Realm and was painstakingly going through the index pages in search of a spell to change the weather.

*How to make a donut tap-dance. No. How to turn a frog into a prince. No. How to turn a prince into a frog. Hmm, now that has possibilities. I wonder if it would work on annoying Pharaohs? I'll keep that one in mind. How to bring a ray of sunshine into a dreary day. N… Oh, wait. That's it!* 

More than a little surprised that it had been so easy to find the right spell, Bakura eagerly turned to the page concerned. He scowled at the tiny, cramped and ink-blotched writing. *You'd think that cursed magician would at least have used a decent pen and not one that leaked everywhere!* 

After trying for several minutes to read the writing, Bakura gave up. *Bah! Enough of this! I know what the spell does! There's nothing else it could do with a title like that! Still… I'd better read through the spell first, just in case. I wouldn't put it past that cursed magician to try to sneak something in behind my back! At least it's written more clearly. I guess he didn't want to risk anyone making a mistake while casting it.*

Bakura read through the spell twice, groaning at the instructions. *What is it with that cursed magician and his stupid poses? Why can't he just have the spell being spoken normally while the caster's standing normally? Oh well, at least the spell will do what I want this time. No nasty surprises here. Although it looks like he was having a hard time getting it to rhyme.* He chuckled at the thought of the Dark Magician having to resort to odd phrasing just so the spell sounded right. His smile faded as he looked at the last line though. *It's got that 'three dawns' bit in it again. Well this time I'm not falling for it! I only need it to be sunny for one day, so I'll make it one dawn. Ryou changed the invisibility spell and he didn't have any problems because of it. All right. I'm ready.*

Putting the book on the floor, Bakura glanced around to make sure that no one, especially his light, was watching. Satisfied that the coast was clear, he got down on all fours. Shifting his weight onto his legs, he stretched out his arms, causing his head to go down while his backside rose into the air. *This is humiliating. I bet that cursed magician wrote it this way on purpose. Now, what was that spell again?*

"By the Shadows I beseech,  
Allow this gift within my reach.  
By blood and skin and fur and bone,  
Grant me the power. Make it my own.  
Let me make the day less dreary,  
Comfort the lost and ease the weary.  
Chase the sorrow and the pain.  
Loose the sunshine. Banish the rain,  
Set the magic in me free,  
To be as will and heart would be.   
From child of Shadow to child of Bastet,  
For one dawn hence this spell I cast it."

Nothing happened.

Bakura blinked. *Huh. I guess it didn't work because I changed the dawn bit. Oh well. I guess I'll have to put up with three days of sunshine after… all… Ohhhh… Suddenly I don't… feel very well… W…what's happening to me?* 

Bakura staggered to his feet. His head spun and his stomach churned. He tried to walk, his only thought to get to his light, but his legs refused to cooperate. He stumbled and jerked back in an effort to remain standing, but overcompensated. His senses were overloading as sight, sound and smell became so confused that he barely realised he was falling. As he blacked out, his mind did what his voice could not. 

* * *

*Ryou!!!*

The mental scream filled Ryou's mind, making him cry out at the sudden pain. He jerked to his feet, his chair crashing to the floor unnoticed as he tried to focus his thoughts through the echoes ringing in his mind. "Bakura! Something's wrong!" 

"Bakura! Bakura where are you? Answer me, Bakura! Please answer! Bakura!" Ryou hurried downstairs, calling for his yami as he went, his cries becoming more desperate as they were met with nothing but silence. He looked around wildly, trying to figure out where his yami could be. 

Warmth began to spread across his chest. Looking down, Ryou was startled to see that the Millennium Ring was glowing, one of its points raised so it pointed towards the kitchen. The same thing had happened when he had cast the finding spell, the time Bakura had become lost while in physical form, Ryou remembered. But… this time, he'd cast no spell. He hesitated only a moment before following his heart, and the Millennium Ring's pointer. It didn't matter how the spell had activated. All that mattered was whether or not it was pointing to Bakura!

The Ring led him through the kitchen and outside to the porch. Ryou's heart was thudding painfully in his chest, but it became worse when he saw the ancient spellbook lying on the tiles. "No… Oh no… Bakura!" He looked around, then down at the Ring. It was pointing towards the backyard. Ryou took a step forward and then paused, his eyes locked on the Ring. The pointer had moved. It was now pointing… down? Ryou gasped and hurried to the railing. A flash of white caught his eye but it took him a moment to realise what he was seeing. 

A small white kitten lay partially submerged in a large muddy puddle. The moment he saw him, Ryou knew deep in his soul that the kitten was Bakura. Ryou's heart nearly stopped when he realised that the little furry face was dangerously close to the water. 

"Bakura!" He ran to the stairs and out into the teaming rain, his only thought for his yami. Reaching him, Ryou scooped him up, holding him close as he ran back to the stairs, his feet slipping and sliding in the mud. As soon as he was on the porch, Ryou desperately checked Bakura, his hands shaking as he saw how still he was. "No… please, no…" 

He gently rubbed his unconscious yami's back and gasped in relief when the motion caused a slight shiver to wrack the small body. Ryou quickly lifted Bakura up again, cradling him against his chest as he hurried inside, stopping just long enough to collect the spellbook as he passed it. 

Once inside, Ryou made a beeline for the bathroom. By the time he got there, Bakura's whole body was shaking violently, but his eyes were still closed. Ryou immediately grabbed some towels and started rubbing Bakura's fur dry, warming him in the process. Gradually, his shaking eased. By the time he had stopped trembling, his eyes were open.

Bakura stared up at Ryou, his brown eyes looking impossibly large in his tiny face. The look of confusion and fear in his yami's face sent a shaft of pain into Ryou's heart. "It's all right, Bakura. Everything's all right. I'll look after you. Don't be afraid." He hesitated for just a moment, unsure how Bakura would respond, before lightly stroking his yami's dirty and matted fur. 

Bakura made a soft mewling sound, then his eyes widened in shock. He looked down at himself, becoming more agitated by the moment. Looking back up at Ryou, Bakura took a deep breath and then meowed as loudly as he could. Since he was a rather small kitten, that wasn't very loud. His furry face screwed up in frustration and he struggled to stand. He waved on his paws for a moment before he collapsed. 

"Oh! Bakura!" Ryou instinctively picked up his yami and cuddled him against his chest. Bakura immediately wriggled, mewling in protest. "Shhh… There, there. It's all right. You're safe now." Ryou looked down at his Yami and smiled slightly. Bakura glared furiously back. "You're damp, muddy and smelly, but you're safe." He couldn't help but laugh softly at the offended look his yami gave him. "I'm sorry, but it's true. You really need a… a… a… achoo!!!! Oh dear…" 

Ryou shook his head. "You need a bath and I need to get into some dry clothes before I catch cold." He deposited Bakura back onto the bathroom vanity and gently pulled the towel around him. "Wait here while I get changed and then we'll get you all nice and clean again. All right?" Bakura gave him the kitten version of an annoyed scowl. "I'll… take that as a yes." 

* * *

*I'm not staying here. There has to be a way to reverse this spell! The book! I just need to get to it.* Bakura wriggled out of the towel and shivered. *It's cold. Maybe… No! I have to get to the book. I have to… That's a long way down.* He peered over the edge of the vanity at the floor. *What am I thinking? It's not that far. Only a few feet. I can make it easily!* He jumped. 

Ryou gasped as he heard a small thump followed by a weak mewling cry coming from the bathroom. "Oh no. Bakura!" He hurried into the room, pulling on his green sweater as he went. He skidded to a stop when he saw the small kitten lying on the hard tile floor looking rather dazed. "Bakura!" Ryou gasped as he knelt down. He went to pick up his yami but froze at the look he received. "I'm sorry. I'm only trying to help." 

Bakura got shakily to his paws and started for the door, moving slowly and unsteadily. He had gone only a few feet when he realised that Ryou was following him. He glared at his light over his shoulder. *Leave me alone. I have to get the book so I can reverse this cursed spell!* He started walking again, then gasped as Ryou suddenly picked him up. 

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but I do know that it can wait until you're clean and dry again. Please Bakura," he implored softly as his yami struggled in his hold, "listen to me. Let me help you. Just this once." Bakura went still as he noticed the way his light's voice was shaking with emotion. He looked up and felt a very uncomfortable sensation in his heart when he saw how gently his light was looking at him. Sighing, he resigned himself to having to wait to get the book.

Ryou turned around and carried him to the sink. Bakura gasped. The spellbook was lying on the bench! He struggled, trying to get to it. Ryou looked from him to the book thoughtfully. "Do you think… there's something in it that could help?" Putting Bakura down, Ryou flipped the book open to the first index page. 

Bakura staggered forward, startled by how weak he felt. He forced himself to keep moving though and finally managed to reach the book. He tapped one paw on the spell he'd used. 

"That's the spell? Hmm… That's odd… It sounds like a weather spell but…" Ryou blinked at his yami. "Wait… the rain! You were trying to stop the rain? But… why…?" Bakura glared up at him and he quickly started turning to the page. "You're right, why you did it doesn't matter. What we have to do is figure out what went wrong with the spell. Ah, here it is." 

Ryou read through it carefully, his eyes growing wider by the moment as a very odd expression crossed his face. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer. Ryou burst out laughing. When he finally got himself under control again, he smiled down at his furious yami. "I'm sorry, Bakura, it's just that… you really do need to read through these spells before you cast them! This spell… it didn't go wrong. Actually, I'd say it worked perfectly."

*What? What's he talking about? Is he blind? It's still raining and I'm a… fuzzball! How could that possibly mean that the spell worked?*

"It's not a weather spell, Bakura. It's a spell… Oh dear…" Ryou was still chuckling softly, "It's a spell to turn yourself into… a cat." 

*What?!* Bakura sat down rather suddenly from the shock. *No… I don't believe it! What in the Shadow's has that got to do with turning rain into sunshine? Ryou must be reading it wrong! Either that or that cursed magician is even more of an idiot than I thought!*

Ryou was still reading the description. "This really is a most interesting spell. According to this, the new form is just the visual part. The spell actually gives the caster 'the ability to ease the mind and heart of anyone the caster touches'," he quoted. "That's where the spell's title comes from. Apparently you now have the ability to cheer up even the most depressed person. You can bring sunshine into the dreariest life, figuratively speaking." He smiled at Bakura, then hurriedly returned to the book when his only response was a furious glare.

"Yes… well… It goes on to say that the form of a small animal is necessary, because the spell basically enhances the natural emotions that humans feel whenever they see such creatures. The spell given is just one of several variations. Only the last two lines change, depending on the type of animal the caster wishes to become." Ryou blinked as he looked at the spell and then turned his puzzled gaze onto his yami. 

"Honestly Bakura, how could you have missed the reference to Bastet? She was one of the Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, the one with the body of a woman but the head of a cat, and she was the reason why cats were considered to be sacred to the Ancient Egyptians. Even I know that, and I wasn't born in that time…" Ryou blinked and then peered more closely at his yami. It was hard to tell under all the fur, but he thought that Bakura might have been blushing…

*Oh Ra… He's right. How did I miss that? I thought it was just the magician trying to make it rhyme…* Bakura winced and sighed as the truth hit him. *I've only got myself to blame for this. Except for the Dark Magician. If he'd written more clearly I wouldn't be in this mess! The next time I battle him, he is going down!* Bakura started working out ways to defeat the Dark Magician. 

Ryou sighed as he recognised the look on the kitten's face. "Come on Bakura, you can think up ways to defeat whoever you're thinking of defeating just as well while you're having your bath." Ignoring the glare his tiny yami gave him, Ryou started filling the sink with warm water. 

*He's not serious. The sink? It's bad enough that I'm a cat but does he have to treat me like one?* Furious, Bakura glared at his light. His complaint came out as an angry hiss.

Ryou looked down in surprise. "Bakura? Is something wrong? 

*Yes. But how can I tell you when I can't speak? I'll just have to try…* Bakura gave the sink the evil eye… or as close as he could get without his Shadow Magic, and then turned to look at the bath. Then he glared up at Ryou again.

"Oh! Of course! I'm sorry Bakura!" Ryou turned to the bathtub. 

*Heh. Good. He got the message.* Bakura smiled smugly. Then Ryou turned back to the sink, a bottle of pink liquid in his hands and a happy smile on his face. 

"I'm really sorry, I didn't think that you'd want…" He trailed off at Bakura's furious hiss. "Um… you don't want this in your bath, do you?" 

*No! I do **not** want that prissy stuff in my bath!* Ryou winced at the fury in his yami's eyes and blushed slightly as he slipped it back on the side of the bath besides the soap. *I can't believe he'd think I'd actually want that stuff…* Bakura's head drooped as he sighed. 

"So… what do you want then? Um… this?" 

*Now what?* Bakura raised his head and came face to face with a yellow rubber duck. "Mreow!" Startled, he jumped back, his paws slipping on the counter. He scrambled for a foothold but only succeeded in sliding further back. *Ryou!* His eyes flew to his light and a flood of relief ran through him at the sight of Ryou reaching for him. Unfortunately, Ryou didn't move fast enough.

__

Splash!

Bakura spluttered as he found himself in the half-filled sink. He flailed around, trying desperately to keep his head above the water. *Ryou! Help me!* His waterlogged fur was so heavy, it was pulling him under! He kicked and splashed, his mind filling with fear-induced panic as he struck out at the water around him. When he felt something close around his chest, he began to struggle even more. It took him several moments to realise that he was being lifted out of the water. Then he was being held close against a warm chest. He closed his eyes, panting as the last of his fear left him. *Ryou…*

"Oh… that was close…" Ryou held his little yami to him for several moments while his heart stopped pounding so heavily. "I'm so sorry, Bakura. I… forgot that you're afraid of ducks." He winced as he felt the little form in his hands suddenly go from relaxed to tense. "Oops. I… don't mean 'afraid' exactly… Um… Really, your reaction to them is perfectly understandable. I mean, that incident at the park was a horrible experience for you and… I'm not helping at all am I? I'll be quiet now." 

*That's the best thing you've said all day. And I am **not** afraid of ducks! I… just don't like them. That's all.* Bakura looked away, then blinked as he found himself being lowered towards the water again. He couldn't help the shiver that raced through his body. 

Ryou paused as he felt his yami tremble. "It's all right, Bakura. I won't let you go. I promise." 

*I… I know you wouldn't, Ryou.* Bakura stopped shaking and looked up at Ryou. The boy smiled at him with a very gentle expression on his face as he lowered his little yami into the warm water.

"There. That's not bad now, is it?" He smiled at the disgusted look he got in response. "Now, I'll just move you so I can… there." 

*Huh?* Bakura blinked as he found himself being held in the water, Ryou supporting him with one hand under his chest and stomach. *Why's he holding me like this? What's he doing? What's that awful smell? He's not thinking of… Oh… Ra…* He tensed as Ryou started rubbing a flowery-smelling shampoo into his dirty fur. *What did I ever do to deserve… Oh yeah. Stupid question.*

As Ryou shampooed his yami's fur, he found himself humming a happy little tune under his breath. The spell had obviously worked. Even though his yami was now a very small kitten, Ryou was happy. It had to be the effect of the spell Bakura had cast. As Ryou gently rinsed the shampoo off though, he silently admitted to himself that it wasn't just the spell. It wasn't often that he got to be the strong one, and it was even rarer for Bakura to actually need him. But he needed him now. 

Ryou was smiling slightly as he lifted his clean yami out of the water and held him to drain for a moment. He chuckled at the disgruntled look Bakura gave him for doing so. "Now we just need to find you a nice clean towel… here you go!" Before Bakura could do more than blink, Ryou had bundled him up so that just his little furry face was peeking out of the towel. Cradling the bundle in his arms, Ryou went into his bedroom. 

He sat cross-legged on his bed and carefully unwrapped Bakura. "Now to get you warm and dry again." Ryou started toweling his yami gently. After struggling for a few moments, Bakura gave in and sat quietly. 

*This… actually isn't so bad…* He'd no sooner thought that then a loud buzzing started up behind him and a hot blast of wind blew his fur into his eyes. "Mreow!"

"Oops. Sorry, Bakura. I accidentally set it to high speed. There," the hot blast settled down to a warm gust and Ryou gently brushed the fur out of his yami's eyes, "is that better?" 

*… Yeah…* Bakura closed his eyes and relaxed as Ryou started blow-drying his fur. Within moments he was warm all over. He was also feeling very sleepy. He murmured a soft complaint when the dryer was turned off. Then he felt something soft begin to brush his fur. *Oh… that… feels… so… good…* Bakura had barely completed the thought before he fell asleep.

Ryou looked down at his yami sleeping so peacefully in his lap. He smiled as he continued to brush Bakura's soft white fur, restoring order to the tousled strands. He'd learned three things while drying his yami's fur. Firstly, Bakura loved having his fur blow-dried. Secondly, Ryou had discovered that he loved playing with Bakura's fur. Finally, now that Bakura's fur was clean, dry and brushed, Ryou understood what had been written in the spell's description. Bakura's kitten form was a little white powderpuff of adorable cuteness that would melt even the coldest of hearts. 

His smile took on a wry twist as Ryou made a mental note to never, ever, repeat that last thought within his yami's hearing. The result would be worse than the time he'd accidentally called Bakura 'sweet'… and Malik and Marik still gave him very odd looks because of that incident.

* * *

Ryou stood in his bedroom doorway looking thoughtfully at the tiny white form stretched out on his bed. Bakura was still in a deep sleep and Ryou didn't have the heart to wake him. But he needed to go to the shops and he really didn't want his yami to wake up and find him gone. He wouldn't be very long, he just needed to get some flour for the double batch of biscuits he was in the middle of making. Finally, Ryou decided to leave Bakura a note and be as quick as possible. 

His yami didn't stir as he slipped the note under one tiny paw. Ryou was still smiling at the sight as he locked the kitchen door behind him and headed off down the path. Bakura was so cute as a kitten. He shrugged off the persistent worry at the back of his mind. He was just being silly and over-protective. Bakura would be fine. 

After all, how much trouble could one small kitten get into in half an hour or so?

To be continued…


	12. The Spell's True Power

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 12: The Spell's True Power  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou took one step inside the kitchen and froze in shock at the sight before him. 

The normally spotless floor was covered in a thick layer of something white that bore a suspicious resemblance to the castor sugar that Ryou had retrieved from the pantry before he'd gone out. The only difference was, the last time he'd seen it, the castor sugar had been in a packet sitting on the counter, not spread all over the kitchen floor. It hadn't had little paw prints tracked through it either. 

"Bakura…" Ryou sighed softly. He should have known that his yami would find some way of getting into trouble, even though he'd been out for barely half an hour. He made his way gingerly over to the counter to inspect the damage. 

The bag of castor sugar, which had been almost full just an hour earlier, was now lying empty on the floor to one side of the mess. Ryou looked thoughtfully at the bench. He'd been about to make a double batch of cookies before he'd realised that he needed more flour for the recipe. Although he'd assembled most of the ingredients before his discovery, he'd put most of them away again. Only the sugar and the chocolate chips had been left out on the counter. The chocolate chips! Ryou breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted them. They weren't exactly where he'd left them though. He was sure that they'd been beside the sugar, not on the other side of the sink. 

He also didn't remember the sealed packet having chew marks all over it. 

Ryou had no idea what had happened, but he thought he knew why it had. With guilt weighing heavily on his conscience, he went off to find his yami. 

* * *

Finding Bakura was as easy as following the little sugar paw prints that led from the kitchen, through the living room, up the stairs and into the bedroom, where the trail disappeared underneath Ryou's bed. Ryou knelt down and spoke very softly. "Bakura, I know you're there. Please come out." When his yami didn't appear, he added, "I'm not mad at you. I know it was my fault. I never even thought… You were hungry, weren't you?"

*Yes. How… how did he know? He's… he's really not mad at me?* 

The edge of the bedspread stirred and a small white-furred face peeked out at Ryou, the large brown eyes looking unusually hesitant. Ryou smiled gently and Bakura slowly limped out from under the bed. At Ryou's gasp, he froze. The next moment, much to his surprise, Bakura found himself being held in the gentle arms of his light as the boy stood up. Ryou's eyes were very anxious as he looked down at Bakura. 

*What… what's going on? He looks… worried… About me?*

Ryou sat on the bed and carefully laid Bakura down in front of him. "You were limping. Where does it hurt? How bad is it? Oh… Bakura…" Ryou closed his eyes, visibly trying to calm down. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. If only I'd thought to feed you before I went out. Then you wouldn't have tried to get something for yourself. I know you were up on the counter. You hurt yourself getting down again, didn't you?" Opening his eyes again, Ryou looked down at his yami as he gently checked Bakura's fragile little legs for injury. 

*His eyes… He's… he's near tears… For me…* Ignoring the twinge of pain in his left front leg, which, as Ryou had guessed, he'd hurt jumping down from the counter, Bakura moved his paw until he touched Ryou's hand. The boy went still and blinked down at him. 

*If only there was some way I could… What? What do I want to do? What do I want to tell him? That it's not his fault? Yes. I might be a cat, but it hasn't affected my mind. I can still read and his note said that he wouldn't be gone long. If I'd been more patient… If I'd thought it over before I climbed up to the counter… But no… I just had to prove that I could still look after myself. Even though I ended up proving the opposite. I'm completely helpless in this cursed form. I can't even open a bag of chocolate things! All I did was make a mess and... Ow. My paw hurts.* 

Ryou watched, entranced, as his yami's thoughts flickered through his eyes, as easily understood as if he'd been speaking aloud. But then, Ryou had always been very good at sensing his yami's mood from the look in his eyes. As he saw how upset Bakura was, it caused his own worry to seem inconsequential. Everything in Ryou urged him to comfort his yami. 

He gently took Bakura's front left paw, the one that was quivering slightly as it touched his hand, and checked it. Ryou wasn't surprised when his yami winced and tried to pull away. "Shhh… Let me see, Bakura. Oh, good, it's not swollen or anything. It looks like you've just twisted it, or something like that. We'll ice it down while you're eating. A little rest and it will be as good as new before you know it!" 

*That… sounds good…* Bakura lay quietly in his light's arms as Ryou carried him downstairs to the kitchen. 

After a slight dispute over what he was having to eat ("No, Bakura, chocolate isn't good for kittens. Here, I have some nice sardines just for you."), Bakura got his first meal as a kitten. As he munched the sardines, his light held an ice-cube wrapped in a dishcloth to his sore paw. Ryou was right. By the time he'd finished eating, Bakura's paw was feeling much better.

Ryou smiled at his little yami as Bakura finished licking the bowl "I knew you'd like them. Now, why don't you have a nap? I still have a few things to do before… Oh dear…" He bit his lip and eyed his yami worriedly. "I'm supposed to go over to Yugi's this afternoon, but I really can't leave you home alone again. I wouldn't have done so the first time except that you were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't like to wake you. I'll just have to call Yugi and tell him that something…" Ryou looked down at the paw on his hand, then at Bakura's determined expression. 

*No. We're going out. Both of us. Even if I have to run all the way there with you chasing me.*

"Well… I suppose I could take you with me. I could always say that I was… minding you for a neighbour or something. Yes, that could work." Ryou smiled as Bakura relaxed. He somehow managed to keep himself from patting his yami's invitingly silky fur. "All right. We'll go. But you should rest that paw as much as possible in the meantime."

* * *

Bakura lay curled up on the living room couch, his head resting on a cushion. His paw was aching slightly but apart from that he felt content. He was warm, dry, safe, comfortable and he could hear Ryou moving about the kitchen as he cleaned up the spilt sugar and made his lunch. All was right with the world, he was relaxed and sleepy, but he didn't feel like sleeping. He was too happy to be going out. 

*I'm glad we're still going. We haven't been able to go out in weeks.* Bakura winced at the memory. *I still can't believe Father actually grounded us… just because he found Ryou sleeping beside a school uniform. All right, so it was a girl's school uniform, it wasn't like there was a girl in it or anything. Well… not then… Of course, I'd been in it up until an hour or so earlier, but that doesn't count… even though I was in female form at the time. But Father didn't know that! So why did he feel compelled to give us his 'ancient civilisations' lecture and ground us until he went away again? I don't think I'll ever understand that man… Which probably isn't a bad thing…*

* * *

"Yugi, Ryou's here!" Yugi's Grandpa called as he showed Ryou up to Yugi's room. He smiled as Yugi stuck his head out of the doorway, a big grin on his face. 

"Thanks Grandpa! Hi Ryou! Malik's already here." A sound that could have been an indistinct greeting came from inside the room. Yugi chuckled. "Don't mind Malik today, he's had a rough morning. Isis forgot to get his favourite cereal so he had to have," Yugi struck a dramatic pose, "something healthy for breakfast!" He laughed and stepped back from the doorway so Ryou could enter the room. 

"Oh dear, poor Malik." Ryou chuckled softly, his eyes going to the blonde boy lying… no, sulking was more like it… on Yugi's bed. 

"Hmph. As I've tried to explain already," Malik scowled at Yugi, "the banana wasn't the problem. I just switched with Marik because I don't like bananas. It was how Marik ate it." 

Ryou blinked. "How did he eat it?" 

Malik's lips twitched as he fought a smile. "Very enthusiastically. With sound effects." His slight smile faded. "Only Isis caught him at it. She thinks it was me so she's going to get more bananas instead of my cereal since I 'liked it so much'. I really hate bananas." 

"Oh. Oh dear." Ryou traded a glance with Yugi and they both burst out laughing. 

Malik scowled at them. When that had no effect, he looked away. A small movement caught his attention. "Hey Ryou… your bag's moving." 

Ryou stopped laughing immediately. "Oh… Yes… I… I'm minding a… Oh! Please be careful with him, Malik! He has a sore paw…" Malik had scooted off the bed and found the kitten in Ryou's bag before the boy could finish explaining. He held the tiny kitten up and grinned at him before turning to Ryou, a curious look on his face.

"Him huh? You didn't tell me you had a kitten. How could you not tell me you had a kitten? And such a cute kitten too!" Malik was still looking at Ryou so he didn't notice how the kitten glared at him. But Ryou noticed. It made him very nervous. 

"Oh! Yes, he is cute!" Yugi smiled and trotted over to admire the kitten. 

Ryou closed his eyes and silently prayed to Ra that Bakura would lose his memory. Just of the past few minutes and as long as it took Malik and Yugi to stop calling him 'cute'. After his reaction to being called 'sweet', Ryou really didn't want to think about what might happen otherwise. He suddenly realised that Malik was speaking to him. Opening his eyes, he noticed both boys looking at him curiously. "Um…"

Malik frowned. "Tell Bakura to stop talking to you so you can hear us! I want to know why you didn't tell us about your kitten!"

Ryou breathed a sigh of relief. There were advantages to having a yami. Having a permanent excuse for being distracted was one of them. "He's not really mine. I'm minding him for a neighbour." Ryou was mildly surprised that the lie came so easily. Perhaps it was because he'd practiced saying it so much on the way over. 

"Why would your neighbour ask you to mind a kitten?" Malik looked suspiciously at Ryou, obviously not convinced that the kitten wasn't really Ryou's. 

"Because he was hurt this morning and my neighbour was worried about him. He fell." 

"Don't cats usually land on their feet." Malik looked down at the kitten. Bakura looked back at him. 

"Yes. That was the problem. He hurt his paw in the landing." Ryou didn't need to act convincing. After all, it was the truth.

"Oh! The poor little thing!" Yugi lightly scratched the kitten behind his ears. Ryou fought hard not to wince visibly at the glare Bakura gave him in protest at the treatment. "It's nice of you to look after him. He's a very lucky kitty!" Yugi smiled at the kitten, then at Ryou before turning towards his desk. "Well, as much as I'd like to keep playing with the kitten, I guess we'd better get to work." He sighed. "This homework isn't going to do itself." 

"Yeah, unfortunately. Don't look so worried Ryou. I'll watch the kitten. While you two do your homework, he can help me with my history assignment!" Malik grinned and jumped back onto the bed with the kitten held against his chest. 

"Are you still doing that? It's due next Wednesday," Yugi lightly scolded. Malik poked his tongue out at Yugi in response. 

"You're as bad as Isis! Tell me something I don't know!"

Ryou blinked at the blonde boy in surprise. "You're having trouble with it? But… it's about Ancient Egypt! I would have thought it would be easy for you."

Malik made a face. "It's all right for you and Yugi, you have your yamis and they lived in that time. But my yami only knows the Egypt that I know. He's been no help to me at all! Even my spelling is better than his!" Lying down again, he put the kitten on the bed and stared moodily at his notebook. 

Yugi smiled. "Don't worry Malik, Grandpa and I have lots of books on Ancient Egypt. I'm sure you'll find something to help you."

Malik sighed, obviously not liking the thought of doing research. "Gee… thanks… Couldn't I just have a quick peek at both of your assignments?" He looked hopefully at the other boys. 

Yugi and Ryou traded looks, remembering the last time that they'd let him do that. "No!" they said in unison. 

"It's for your own good, Malik," Yugi said seriously.

"Yes, the teacher was cross last time when you copied from us. You only got away with it because we said that we'd all done the assignments together, using the same books. Imagine how she'd react if it happened again. I don't think that excuse would work a second time." 

Malik sighed as Ryou finished speaking. As much as he hated to admit it, his friend had a point there. "Okay, fine, I won't copy. But couldn't I just…?"

"No!"

* * *

Bakura stretched out on Yugi's bed. He was bored, but in a good way. Yugi and Ryou were hard at work over at the desk and Malik… well, Malik was biting the end of his pen and staring moodily at his notebook. He hadn't written a single word in almost half an hour. 

*There's no way he's going to have that finished by next Wednesday. At the rate he's going, he'll be lucky to get it done by next year!* As he looked at the boy though, Bakura noticed something about Malik's eyes. It wasn't that he was thinking about what to write, he simply wasn't 'there'. *He's talking to Marik.* 

As Bakura watched, Malik blinked. A look of pain flickered through his eyes. It was gone so quickly that, if Bakura hadn't been looking, he would never have known that something was wrong. Outwardly, Malik didn't move, but Bakura was suddenly sure that the boy was very upset. *Malik?*

The boy blinked again and shifted, his eyes looking away from his notebook. Noticing the kitten staring at him, he smiled slightly. Bakura caught the slight hint of sadness in the smile. Before he could wonder about it though, Malik had reached out and started stroking his fur. 

*He's… petting me…* Bakura went rigid in shock for a moment before the surprisingly gentle touch fully registered. *Actually… this doesn't feel half bad…* Relaxing, Bakura lay down and allowed himself to enjoy the experience. He closed his eyes. 

Bakura was almost asleep when he sensed the shadow magic swirling around him. It was only faint, too faint for any of the lights to feel, but his senses seemed to be attuned to it. Then the image began to form in his mind. He fought it at first, but when he realised who was in the image, he allowed it to come. As he watched the scene… no, he realised, the memory… unfold, Bakura understood the pain in Malik's expression. 

Malik had lied about the banana incident. 

Oh, he'd told the truth about how it had happened, and the fact that Marik had ended up eating the banana. But he'd lied about Isis's reaction. Marik had definitely enjoyed the banana, with an eagerness that defied description, but Isis had not been pleased about it. In fact, she'd ended up scolding him. Marik had been so upset by her words that he had retreated into his soul room and was refusing to come out again. In his pain, he'd struck out at Malik, blaming him for not eating the banana himself. 

*What a mess. Only Malik and Marik could possibly have gotten themselves into this.* Bakura sighed. *Fools. Instead of getting upset with each other over it, they should just wait until Isis calms down and apologises. She will. She was just shocked. Considering the way Marik ate that banana I'm not surprised. If this is how Isis reacts to that though, let's hope she never sees how Malik eats a lollipop...*

Bakura opened his eyes and looked over at Malik. He blinked. *Huh? His expression… He seems… more relaxed now. What…? Wait… that image in my mind… the shadow magic… What was it Ryou said about the spell? It was supposed to give me 'the ability to ease the mind and heart of anyone the caster touches', that's right! So… when I relaxed… that part of the spell must have kicked in and… what? Showed me his memory? No… It let me see what was upsetting him. But how would that have calmed him down?*

Looking up at Malik, Bakura noticed the distant look in the blonde boy's eyes again. This time though, when he blinked and returned from the soulrooms, Malik was smiling happily. *They've sorted it out. About time they came to their… senses… Wait a minute… Could that be how the spell works? Because I could see that it wasn't anything they should be upset about, could that have gotten through to them? Bah. Enough of this. Ryou's the one who's into theory and philosophy, not me. However it works, at least he's cheered up. Heh. Now he owes me.*

Malik smiled at the kitten. He'd been so upset, but patting the kitten's soft fur had made him calm enough to think things through and realise that they weren't as bad as he'd thought. Now he and Marik had made up and they were happy again. The kitten deserved something nice for that. It seemed to like him petting it… Malik smiled happily as he got an idea. "Come here, kitty!" 

Bakura blinked as he suddenly found himself tipped onto his back. The next moment, he tensed in shock as Malik started rubbing his stomach. *What? Hey! Stop that! Ryou! Help!* 

Ryou turned around as a shaky "Mew" came from the bed. He blinked at the sight of Bakura lying on his back with his paws waving ineffectively in the air as Malik… "Um… Malik… what are you doing?" Yugi turned to look too.

"Giving him a tummy rub! Cats love this! See? He's purring!" 

Malik laughed and kept petting the kitten. He looked so happy that Ryou didn't have the heart to tell him that it wasn't a purr. He just hoped that Bakura wouldn't do anything besides growl…

* * *

Ryou eyed Bakura warily as they watched TV in the living room after supper. His yami still hadn't forgiven him for not rescuing him from the indignity of Malik's 'tummy rub' torture. At least he'd put up with it until Malik had stopped off his own accord. Those fifteen minutes were obviously going to stay with Bakura for quite some time though. He had refused to look at Ryou since then and even now he was curled up at the other end of the couch. Ryou sighed sadly and tried to concentrate on the TV show.

Bakura's sharp hearing picked up his light's soft sigh. He tried to ignore the guilt it made him feel, but he couldn't quite manage it. *Curse it to the Shadows! When did his happiness become so important to me? No. I won't do it. He should have stopped Malik. I don't care if he's unhappy. I will not go over there. I won't. I… I… Oh Ra…*

The soft touch of silky soft fur against his hand made Ryou jump. He blinked down at his little yami in surprise for a moment before sighing in relief. A smile dawned on his face. "Hello. Does this mean that you've forgiven me? I really am sorry. Malik looked so happy and he meant well. Honestly! I didn't have the heart to stop him." 

*I know. Now shut up and pet me before I change my mind about doing this!* Bakura pushed his head into Ryou's hand. 

Ryou blinked again. "Are you all right, Bakura? You're acting very strangely. Is something wrong?" He slowly lifted his hand. When Bakura meowed and pushed against him, he hesitantly reached out and lightly touched his yami's head. Bakura immediately rubbed against him, as though seeking the touch. "Bakura?" Ryou lifted his hand again, now very worried. This wasn't at all like his independent, 'don't fuss over me, don't touch me and especially don't pet me', yami. "What is it? What's wrong? Are you hurt? Sick?" 

*Curse it! How am I supposed to do that magic thing if he won't pet me? I'm sure that's how it happened with Malik. He was petting me, I was falling asleep and it just happened. But what if I can't do it again?* Bakura sighed, his head drooping as doubts filled his mind. 

Suddenly, he found himself being lifted up. The next moment, he was sitting on Ryou's lap with the boy looking anxiously down at him as he gently stroked his fur. Bakura blinked up at his light in confusion. *Huh? One minute he won't pet me and the next… this?*

Ryou smiled tentatively at his little yami. "You looked so sad… I know it's hard for you, being in this form, but please don't worry. I'll look after you until you change back again. I promise." Still smiling, he leaned back against the sofa and watched his yami as he kept stroking the soft fur, trying to give what little comfort he could. Ryou couldn't bear to see his yami upset.

Bakura closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy the attention. The petting wasn't quite the same as when Malik had done it. Perhaps it was because it was his light, but the touch seemed much more gentle, more soothing. Instead of just relaxing him, it caused him to flop bonelessly across his light's lap. A low rumble came from somewhere near. Bakura was stunned to realise that it was him. *Oh Ra… I'm actually… purring! Curse it to the Shadows… I'm too comfortable to worry about it.* He sighed and gave in to the sensations surrounding him. 

The image came, as he'd hoped it would, but it wasn't what he'd expected. Instead of seeing what had upset Ryou, he saw the two of them as they were at that moment. Two things struck him; how happy Ryou looked and how comfortable and relaxed the small kitten lying across Ryou's lap looked. *I guess Ryou was unhappy because I was mad at him. Now… I'm not mad anymore and he's… happy. Well, that was easy. Ohhh… this feels good…* It was Bakura's last thought before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

While Ryou got ready for bed, Bakura strode restlessly around the room. After his nap, he was feeling wide awake and ready for anything… except bed. He looked around. *I'm bored. There has to be something I can do instead of going to sleep again. I've been asleep for most of the day! Huh? What's that?* He padded across the room to where Ryou had left his sneakers sitting on the chair. One of the shoelaces was dangling down. Bakura sat down in front of it and studied it intently.

*It's just a shoelace. So why am I finding it so interesting? It fascinates me. I have no idea why. It just does. That shoelace is taunting me. It's practically daring me to hit it out of the way. I will **not** give in to the urge… Must… resist… Oh, who am I kidding? Since when have I refused a dare?* 

After glancing warily around to make sure that Ryou was still in the bathroom, Bakura swiped at the dangling shoelace with one paw. The shoelace swung up and then fell back into place. *Heh.* Bakura glanced around again and then swiped it with his other paw. The shoelace flew in the other direction. *Heheheh.*

Ryou came out of the bathroom and looked around for his yami. He blinked. Bakura was sitting up on his haunches happily batting at a dangling shoelace with both paws. He was so focused on his game that he hadn't noticed that he was no longer alone. Ryou tried to keep from laughing, but the sight of his normally serious yami playing like a… well… kitten… was just too funny.

Bakura froze at the sound of his light's laughter. *He's not… he is… Oh… Ra…* He slowly lowered his front paws and took a deep breath. With as much dignity as he could muster, he turned and padded past Ryou, sending a glare to his light as he did so. The look seemed to make Ryou laugh harder, if that was possible. *Bah. I'd like to see you try to resist a dare like that.* Bakura stalked across the room and under Ryou's bed. Lying down, he started to do some serious sulking. 

It took Ryou several minutes to stop laughing. When he finally did, he turned the bed down and then startled his yami by simply reaching under the bed and scooping him up! As he cuddled his thoroughly disgruntled yami to his chest, Ryou smiled down at him. "I'm sorry for laughing, Bakura. It just surprised me, that's all. I'm not used to seeing you so relaxed. Forgive me?" 

*No chance.* 

Bakura looked away. He blinked when Ryou suddenly hugged him more closely. As much as he tried to resist, knowing what he'd see if he looked, Bakura couldn't stop himself from glancing up. Sure enough, Ryou was giving him that half pleading/half hopeful look that all of the lights used whenever they wanted their yamis to do something that their yamis didn't want to do. As always, Bakura found himself unable to resist the 'hikari eyes', as Yami had once named the look. He sighed.

*Fine… But don't do it again.* 

Ryou felt the tension leave his little yami and smiled, knowing that he had been forgiven. "Come on, Bakura, it's time for bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I'll have to think of an excuse to stay home though. I can't leave you here alone all day."

*Huh? What's he talking about? Oh… that's right… he doesn't know I changed the spell.*

Ryou smiled at Bakura as he climbed into bed and gently put his yami down beside him. Rolling onto his side so he was facing Bakura, the boy began to lightly stroke the soft white fur. "Try to go to sleep, Bakura. It's really not so bad, you know."

*Huh. Speak for yourself. You're not the one who's been too small to hold a Duel Monster card or open a packet of chocolate things for most of the day. You also weren't the one who got called 'cute'… I am **not** cute!* Bakura curled up beside his light but he didn't go to sleep. Instead, he continued to glare into the night for some time, planning his revenge on Yugi and Malik.

* * *

Bakura stirred, his eyes opening slowly as he yawned and stretched. He was still a kitten, but he could tell by how dark it was that the dawn wasn't far off. He shifted and blinked as he realised how warm and comfortable he felt. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw the reason why.

He was lying in the spot between Ryou's neck and shoulder and the pillow. *Huh? How in the Shadows did I get here?* He vaguely remembered Ryou pulling the covers up in the middle of the night… *Oh yeah, I got hot so I came up here to get away from the blanket.* He closed his eyes again. *I'm too comfortable to get up. I think I'll just lie here until the spell breaks.* 

Bakura shifted slightly, his head nuzzling against his light's bare skin at the base of his neck. He instinctively gave Ryou a little lick. As his mind caught up with his actions, he froze, his eyes the only part of him that moved as they snapped open in shock. 

*What… did I just do? I didn't really just… lick him… did I? Oh Ra… I did… Why in the Shadows did I do that?* He stared at his light in confusion for a long moment before he lay down again. *At least I didn't wake him up. Wait a minute… Why didn't that wake him up?* Bakura sat up straight and stared down at his light. *I licked him and he didn't even stir? Well, fine! If that's how he reacts, just see if I ever do it again!* Annoyed, Bakura stalked to the bottom of the bed and sat down. He looked up at the window. The first light of day was beginning to lift the darkness. 

* * *

Ryou smiled as he stretched. "Good morning, Bakura!" 

"Morning, Ryou." 

The voice froze Ryou in mid-stretch. His wide eyes darted around the room before he finally spotted his yami, back in spirit form, standing over by the window. "You… you're back to normal…"

Bakura turned, frowning at the odd tone of his light's voice. "You sound disappointed." 

Ryou smiled weakly. "Oh… no… I'm just… surprised, that's all. I thought… Wasn't the spell supposed to last for three dawns, like the others?"

"I re-worded it. I thought it was to make a sunny day, so I figured one day would be long enough. Good thing I did. I'd still be stuck in that cursed cat form if I hadn't!" He shuddered at the thought, but his attention never shifted from Ryou. His light was definitely disappointed for some reason.

"Oh. Yes. That was a… good idea…" Ryou busied himself with getting up and making his bed. Bakura noticed that he didn't look at him. 

"Ryou… what's wrong? Why won't you look at me?" Bakura winced inwardly as his words came out more harshly than he'd intended. Sure enough, his sensitive light flinched at the tone. But at least he turned around and met Bakura's eyes. 

"I'm sorry, Bakura. I just… liked you as a kitten. I mean… I like you as you are, of course, but it was nice to have a kitten… Oh, I'm making such a mess of this…" A faint tide of colour rushed into Ryou's cheeks as he gave his yami a weak smile.

Bakura eyed the boy curiously. "If you like cats so much, how come you don't have one?" 

Ryou turned away and headed for the bathroom. For a moment Bakura thought he wasn't going to answer the question. But then Ryou stopped in the doorway. He didn't turn, and his voice was so soft that Bakura could barely hear it. "Father won't allow it. He doesn't like pets. He says that they make too much mess." Ryou went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Bakura stared at the closed door as a mix of shock and anger raced through him. After everything Father had put Ryou through; leaving him alone so much, ignoring him when he was home, not to mention all the trouble he'd given Ryou and 'Kura'; this struck Bakura as being too much. He'd experienced first-hand how much care Ryou took with a kitten. It didn't seem right that he didn't have one of his own, just because Father said so. 

"If Ryou wants a fuzzball of his own, then that's what he's going to have! Whether Father likes it or not!" 

Bakura thumped his fist on the desk beside him. At least, that was what he meant to do. Unfortunately, his fist hit the edge of the Book of Secret Arts and sent it flying! Scowling at the book, Bakura picked it up. As he went to put it back on the desk though, he noticed the spell the book had fallen open to. It took him a moment to realise what he was seeing.

The spell was written in Egyptian Hieroglyphs. 

All the other spells that Bakura had tried had been written in Japanese, the language that Bakura found hardest to read. They had also been written in an untidy scrawl that would have been almost impossible for him to read even if his Japanese had been perfect. But this spell… not only was it in Hieroglyphs, but every character was printed neatly and clearly! 

Bakura read through the spell, then read it through again just to make sure that it said what he thought it said. For a long moment, he stared at the book. His mind was racing, but he was also uneasy. It seemed almost… too convenient. A whole book of spells and it just happened to open at the very page he needed? Bakura eyed the book suspiciously. After everything he'd been through because of the spells he'd cast, he had no intention of casting this spell. At least, not until he was absolutely sure that it would do what he wanted it to do. The spell looked simple enough, but then again, he'd thought that about the other spells too. 

When Ryou came out of the bathroom, he found the bedroom empty. He also noticed something that made him very worried. "Oh no… Bakura!" He hurried out of the room, calling for his yami.

The Book of Secret Arts was no longer on his desk.

To be continued…


	13. The Children of Bastet

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 13: The Children of Bastet  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou ran into the kitchen and sighed with relief when he saw the Book of Secret Arts lying on the table. Now he just had to find his yami… "Bakura!"

"There's no need to shout, Ryou. I'm right here." 

Ryou spun around, for the first time noticing that his yami was standing over by the kitchen counter. Then he realised that Bakura wasn't alone.

"Dark Witch!" Ryou smiled and hurried over. 

The Duel Monster smiled fondly at the young light and opened her arms, catching him in a hug. "Hello, my dear. I'm so pleased that you're not a girl. Since you and Bakura are both boys at the moment, there's less chance that you need me to cast that wretched spell again." 

Ryou chuckled and glanced curiously at Bakura, who was looking more than a little annoyed. "No… I'm not sure why Bakura summoned you, but I don't think it was for that." 

"It wasn't. Go upstairs, Ryou." Bakura glared at his light when the boy just stared at him. "I said, go upstairs! You're going to be late for school if you don't hurry up and get ready!" He knew before Ryou spoke that his light wasn't buying it. 

"You want to talk to Dark Witch alone, don't you? All right, I'll go… but…" Ryou turned to look pleadingly at Dark Witch. "Please don't let him do anything dangerous." 

"Don't worry, my master. I'll keep him safe." Dark Witch gave him another hug before letting him go. She watched him as he reluctantly left the room, then turned her attention to Bakura. "I hope you realise how lucky you are. There aren't too many lights who would put up with you even half as well as he does, let alone actually care for you." 

Bakura looked away. "Yeah. I know." The admission was made so softly that Dark Witch thought for a moment that she'd only imagined hearing it. She smiled gently at the uncomfortable yami.

"Now then, Bakura, why did you summon me? I don't see a duel going on, so it can't be for that." She shook her head. "One day you'll summon me for a duel and I'll probably faint with shock."

"Heh. Somehow I doubt that." Bakura couldn't help but grin at the thought of the feisty Duel Monster fainting. His smile faded as he remembered why he had called her. "Seriously, how much do you know about the spells in the Book of Secret Arts?" He shifted uneasily as she stared at him. "I know you're not a Spellcaster type Monster, but you do know magic. I thought maybe you might know something about the book…"

Dark Witch studied Bakura for a moment before she shrugged. "It depends on what you want to know. Just because the book doesn't affect me in the game doesn't mean that I haven't read it in the Shadow Realm. I don't have a copy of it, but Neo does. Neo the Magic Swordsman," she explained as Bakura gave her a blank look. "So does Witch of the Black Forest, Mystical Elf, Dark Elf and Dark Magician Girl. Even Nemuriko has a copy. He's too young to read it, but he likes looking at the pictures. With so many copies of that wretched book in the castle, I probably know almost as much about it as anyone in the Shadow Realm, aside from the Dark Magician, and that's only because he wrote it."

Bakura blinked at her, now very confused. "Castle?" 

Dark Witch nodded. "The Castle of Dark Illusions. I live there with some of the others."

"Oh." Bakura paused as he thought about it. "You mean… you actually live with… the Dark Magician Girl?" Somehow, he had trouble visualising that.

Dark Witch grinned. "Not by choice, I assure you. For either of us. I find her far too talkative for my peace of mind and she… well… To be honest, the Dark Magician Girl would much rather be living in the Dark Magician's tower." 

"What's wrong with that?" Bakura asked, not at all sure that he wanted to know the answer.

"Oh nothing, except that The Stern Mystic and the Dark Sage would have fits if they heard about it!" Dark Witch leaned closer as though about to share a secret. "They're terrible fuddy duddies. Honestly, I feel quite sorry for the Magician of Black Chaos. I don't know how he puts up with them. But he does and we all thank him for it. With him keeping them occupied, the rest of us can usually get on with our lives in peace."

"Oh." Bakura blinked, trying to work out what she was talking about and failing miserably.

"The Magician of Black Chaos lives with them and acts as a combination messenger for them and a warning system for us. He lets us know if they're planning a visit, so we can make sure that we're out when they come calling. Believe me, it's the only way for us all to preserve whatever sanity we have." Dark Witch winked at Bakura. "Now then dear, you were about to tell me what you wanted to know about the Book…"

"I was?" Bakura blinked, thoroughly distracted by everything he'd learned. He shook his head to clear it. "Um… right… It's just… This spell. What does it do, exactly?" He pointed to the spell he had the book open to. The 'Shadow Life' spell.

"Hmm?" Dark Witch read through the spell. Her reaction was immediate. She gasped and began to shake, then slowly turned to stare at Bakura in shock. "Why in the Shadows would you ever want to cast that?" she whispered.

Bakura sighed. "I knew it was too good to be true…" He glared at the book. "So what does it do?" 

Dark Witch hesitated. "What… do you think it does?" she asked carefully.

"It sounds like it brings a Shadow Monster into the real world, only changing it in whatever way the castor wants it changed. The resulting creature is invisible to the eyes of anyone without Shadow Magic." 

"Well… yes… that is basically what it does. Except that such a powerful spell requires a price. Anyone using that particular card at the time… their souls would be drawn into the Shadow Realm as payment for the life of the Shadow Monster that had been released into this world." Dark Witch watched Bakura closely as her words sank in. By his sudden pallor and the shock on his face, she knew that hadn't been what he'd had in mind. 

"What did you want to use the spell for? Perhaps there is another spell that would be more… suitable," she suggested softly. 

Bakura looked away, uncomfortable with admitting what he wanted to do. Only his determination to somehow do it made him finally speak. "Ryou needs a kitten." 

Dark Witch blinked. "He does?" 

A faint wash of colour tinged Bakura's cheeks. "Well… maybe not 'needs'. But he wants one and I…" He couldn't bring himself to admit that he wanted to give his light something special. 

Bakura suddenly found himself caught in Dark Witch's warm embrace. "What in the Shadows…?" 

Dark Witch released him and smiled tenderly at him as she brushed her hand over his cheek. "Dear boy. Look at the other page." When Bakura blinked at her in confusion, she nodded to the spellbook. "The page opposite the one you were looking at. That is the spell you need."

Bakura hesitantly looked in the book. He'd been so surprised at seeing the spell written in Hieroglyphs that he hadn't noticed that the spell on the opposite page was the same. "Dark Witch… I… I don't understand. How will this 'Shadow Shield' spell help? According to this, it just makes a Shadow Monster in the real world invisible to anyone without Shadow Magic. But… it doesn't say anything about getting the Shadow Monster here… Isn't it just a weaker version of the 'Shadow Life' spell?" 

Dark Witch smiled slightly. "Yes, and no. The 'Shadow Life' spell is made up of several parts, each part a spell in its own right. The 'Shadow Shield' spell is one of those. It's the part that hides the Shadow Monster once it's in your world. You're right, that is all it does, but in this case… it is all you need it to do."

Bakura frowned down at the book. "But it says it only works on Shadow Monsters that have been brought to this world. How will this get Ryou a kitten?" 

"It won't." Dark Witch laughed softly as Bakura scowled at her. "But it will shield the kitten that I will give you and Ryou."

"Kitten? What kitten? How can you give us a kitten? I mean… Ryou… How can you give Ryou a kitten?" Bakura was now very confused. He hated being confused. He frowned unhappily. 

Dark Witch waved her hand and a portal of dark shadows appeared on the other side of the room. "Come with me and I'll explain." 

Bakura hesitated. "The Shadow Realm?"

"Well of course! Where else would you get a kitten that could be shielded by the spell?" 

* * *

In the dungeon of the Castle of Dark Illusions, Bakura gasped in surprise as he saw the fluffy white cat and the eight small kittens that happily played all around her. He gasped again when there was a whoosh of wind over his head and Fusionist suddenly swooped down to take a protective stance behind the mother cat. The large winged black cat studied Bakura in silence for a long moment before he relaxed. Lying down beside the white cat, he nuzzled her gently. 

"What… How… They… They're real! I mean… The cat… The kittens… They're not… Shadow Monsters… but… How?" He stared at Dark Witch in shock. She smiled slightly.

"It happened about fifteen years before the Shadow Realm was sealed by the Pharaoh. There was a great battle in your world, but it was unusual because it required us to be there in both spirit and body. It took a great deal of magic to create the portal we needed to go from the Shadow Realm to your world and back again, so it was easier to leave it open while the battle was fought rather than close it and open it a second time. In the midst of everything that was going on, she passed through the portal. A few days later, Fusionist found her. They've been together ever since."

Bakura was still trying to get over the presence of kittens in the Shadow Realm. "So… are these the only kittens…" 

Dark Witch laughed. "Oh Shadows no!" Her eyes twinkled merrily. "This happens about once every hundred years or so. Usually right after the Dark Magician pays us a visit." She sighed and shook her head. "After the first time, I was suspicious. By now, I'm certain that he has something to do with it. But he won't admit it." 

Seeing Bakura's confusion, Dark Witch grinned. "He always brings his Kuriboh with him, and he carries a Multiply spell just in case they have any trouble on the way over. You'd be surprised how many times they've been ambushed by a Blue Eyes White Dragon or three. Last time he came here, the Dark Magician's hat was on fire. He had to dunk his head in the moat." She smiled happily at the memory. Bakura smirked. 

"You think he uses the Multiply spell on the cat?" 

"Not exactly, but I think he does some sort of spell in connection to it. He always insists on visiting with them before he leaves. I'm just glad that he doesn't come more often. I'm running out of homes for them. Speaking of… how about you take two? One for Ryou, and one for yourself." Dark Witch winked at Bakura. "Oh, come on Bakura, you know you want one too. How can you possibly resist something so cute?" 

* * *

"Oh Bakura! They're wonderful! Thank you! Are you sure the spell…" Ryou managed to tear his eyes away from the two white kittens playing on the rug in front of him, long enough to look anxiously up at his yami. Bakura smiled slightly. 

"Don't worry, Ryou. Dark Witch cast the spell herself. She seemed to think I'd mess it up if I did it." He tried to look annoyed, but it was impossible for him to scowl when he felt so satisfied. His light was happy and had two fuzzballs to fuss over to his heart's content.

"I still can't believe that they're really from the Shadow Realm! I never knew there was a cat there."

Bakura nodded. "Dark Witch said they call her Bastet." 

Ryou blinked and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Bastet… but that's…"

"Yeah. Makes you wonder about some of those Egyptian legends, doesn't it?" Bakura smirked as Ryou laughed and nodded. Ryou's smile turned thoughtful as he gently stroked the kittens.

"Um… Bakura… Did you say that their father was Fusionist?" 

"Yeah. Why?" Bakura eyed his light warily, something about the boy's tone of voice making him cautious. 

"Oh… it's nothing really. It just explains these." Ryou smiled up at his yami as he gently extended one of the small white wings that had been lying so flat against the kitten's side that Bakura hadn't realised what it was. "We'll have to be careful to keep them in here when Father's home though. Especially once they learn to fly." 

Bakura blinked as an image of two flying white kittens swooping around Father popped into his mind. The image then zoomed in on the bewildered look on the man's face as small flying things that he couldn't see surrounded him. Bakura couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing. 

* * *

Late that night, Bakura slipped out of his soul room and took on his spirit form. He glanced at Ryou, relieved to see that the boy was sleeping peacefully, the two small kittens curled up at his side. His light being asleep made it much easier for him to do what he needed to do. 

Once downstairs in the kitchen, Bakura pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. Dark Witch had very kindly, and enthusiastically, written the spell down for him. Standing in no particular pose, Bakura softly spoke the words designed to get his revenge for what had happened the day before.

"Power of the Shadows, I call to you,  
Cast this spell for vengeance due.  
Let the magic that my words call,  
On Yami Yugi and Marik fall.  
Then let no other spell take place,  
That would restore them, form or face.  
Children of Shadow to Children of Bastet,  
For one week hence, this spell is cast."

Bakura smirked as he put the paper away and headed back to upstairs. "Let's see how Yugi and Malik's yamis like being called 'cute'!" 

To be continued…


	14. More Cute Kitties

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 14: More Cute Kitties  
By Shadow's Mirror

Malik woke with a start when a small weight suddenly landed hard on his stomach. "What in the world?" He sat up quickly and something went flying. It landed with a soft thump and a surprised "Mew!" on the bed beside him. Malik blinked as a small kitten with wild blonde fur suddenly poked its head up beside his hip. The kitten looked up at him out of enormous violet eyes before it got a determined look on his face. "Mew!"

It launched itself at him, scrambling up the sheet until it reached his lap. Malik was too stunned to move. The next moment he was in too much pain to do anything but yell as the kitten suddenly ducked under his oversized T-shirt and began climbing his torso and chest. For a little kitten it was very fast and its claws were very sharp!

"Malik! Whatever is going on in here?" Isis pushed over the door and peered anxiously into her brother's room. When she saw him jerking in pain with no immediately apparent cause, she hurried towards him. About halfway there, she stopped and blinked in shock. A small tousled blonde head with big pointed ears had just popped out of the neck of Malik's top. "Malik… why is there a kitten in your pajamas?"

At the sound of her voice, the kitten looked around and Isis got her first look at the kitten's wide, happy violet eyes. She gasped. "Malik Ishtar! What in the Shadows have you done to Marik?" 

Malik blinked and tried to look down at the kitten, which wasn't easy considering it was right under his chin. "Marik? The kitten's Marik? I didn't do anything to him!" He didn't have to look to know that Isis was glaring at him. She always glared at him. Even when it wasn't his fault. Which wasn't all that often, but still… "Really! He must have done it to himself!" 

"Mew!" Marik protested as loudly as he could. It came out as a high-pitched squeak and he looked surprised. He tried it again. "Mew!" Marik suddenly looked happy again. Apparently he rather liked sounding like a Bone Mouse that had just inhaled helium. He went to clap his paws together, forgetting that he was using them to cling on to Malik. 

The boy winced as his kitten-yami slipped down and scrambled to get back up again. "Ow! Isis! Help! Get him off me! I should have known it was Marik. He's the only one who would think to climb up my pajamas from the inside!" Malik suddenly realised that he'd said that out loud. When his sister was close enough for her to have heard every word. "Um… I can explain that…"

Isis sighed. "Please don't." Pulling up Malik's T-shirt, Isis plucked the kitten off her brother's chest and lifted it up. Marik immediately began wriggling happily. He wriggled so much that Isis almost lost her grasp on him! "Oh!" At the last moment she managed to keep her hold by pulling him in close against her chest. Marik went very still. Isis breathed a sigh of relief.

"Um… Isis…" Malik's odd tone made her look warily at him. "You really shouldn't hold him like that." Realising that her brother was trying not to laugh, Isis reluctantly looked down. 

She was holding Marik with his back pressed to the middle of her chest, which would have been fine except that he had moved his head so he had a nice soft pillow. He looked comfortable, content and extremely happy. Isis sighed again. Marik made a happy sound. 

"Malik, if I ever find out that either of you did this deliberately, you will both be grounded for the rest of eternity. Or possibly longer."

* * *

"Yugi! Wake up! It's time to get ready for school!" Yugi woke to the sound of his Grandpa knocking on the bedroom door.

"Okay Grandpa! Thanks!" He yawned and stretched, then slowly opened his eyes. Yugi blinked. The small kitten sitting on his chest blinked back. "Oh. Hello. Where did you come from?" The kitten looked seriously at him and Yugi blinked again. His sleep-fogged brain finally began to clear as he studied the little kitten more intently. 

The kitten had black fur, except for the tips of his ears and tail, where the fur was a dark purplish-red, and the slightly longer golden-blonde fur that fell around his little furry face. Yugi gasped as he finally recognised the kitten. "Yami! What happened to you?" 

Yugi carefully sat up, holding his yami-kitten securely against him as he moved. Yami lay quietly in Yugi's arms. He didn't look happy, but he didn't seem particularly upset either. Yugi lightly stroked the soft black fur. "Apart from your appearance, you're okay, right? I mean, you're not hurt at all?" 

Yami made a soft sound and leaned against Yugi, closing his eyes as though he was very tired. The slightest shiver moved through the tiny kitten's body. Yugi held him close, instinctively knowing that his yami was afraid and trying not to show it. "I wonder how this happened…"

"Magic." Yugi and Yami jumped at the soft, and rather surprised, voice that suddenly came from the far side of the room. Yugi blinked at the tall figure standing there. His face lit up in a smile. 

"Dark Magician! I'm so glad you're here! You said this was done by magic. Does that mean you know what's happened to Yami?" He glanced down at the kitten in his arms. Yami was gazing hopefully at the Dark Magician. 

The Dark Magician frowned slightly. "I do know of a spell that could have done this, however I did not feel it being cast. That concerns me. I shall have to look into it. In the meantime, Master Yugi, if you would please place Master Yami down on the bed, I will return him to normal."

Yugi scrambled out of bed and placed Yami where the Dark Magician indicated before moving out of the way. The Dark Magician waved his hand. A flash of bright light and a cloud of strange dark blue smoke that smelled strongly of toasted cheese filled the room. Coughing, Yugi ran to open the window. By the time he could see again, he looked over at the bed, expecting to see his Yami. 

The small black kitten looked down at himself before looking up at Yugi in confusion as the young boy approached. "I guess the spell didn't work, Dark Magician. Dark Magician?" Yugi looked around at the empty room. "I wonder where he went?"

* * *

"Ryou!" Malik ran up to the other boy as soon as he entered the school gates. "Did anything odd happen to Bakura last night?" 

Ryou blinked, surprised at Malik's very unusual greeting. "Unusual? I don't think so. Why do you ask?" 

"Because someone turned my yami into a kitten last night!" Malik pouted. "Isis thinks it was me, but it wasn't! I swear!" He gave Ryou his most pitiful look. "You believe me, don't you Ryou?" 

"Of course I believe you, Malik." Ryou did. Not because he trusted Malik's innocent expression, or because Malik generally told the truth except for when a lie was more to his advantage, no. It was just that his own yami had been acting very smug since the night before and Ryou had a sneaking suspicion that he was about to find out why. 

"The same thing happened to Yami." Yugi had come up behind them so quietly that Ryou and Malik both gasped in shock. "Sorry." Yugi smiled sheepishly as Malik glared at him. 

"You say Yami was turned into a kitten too?" Ryou's suspicion was quickly going from sneaking to running at full speed in heavy boots while blowing a whistle with great enthusiasm. 

"Uh huh." Yugi suddenly peered at Ryou intently, as though he'd just thought of something. "Ryou, that kitten you had with you yesterday… No… that's silly… Why would your yami turn into a kitten yesterday and our yamis turn into kittens today? That wouldn't make any sense."

Malik frowned and looked suspiciously at Ryou. "But neither does the fact that Bakura isn't a kitten today. He's the only yami who isn't!" 

Before Ryou could think of something to say, Yugi came to the rescue. "But he's also the only one with the Millennium Ring. We know what the Rod does, and I sort of know what the Puzzle does, but we don't know everything the Ring can do. It has more than one ability, right Ryou?" 

Ryou nodded. That was true. He suddenly wondered if perhaps his yami was innocent in this after all. "When Bakura faced Pegasus, the Millennium Ring somehow shielded him against the Eye's magic," he offered softly. He usually didn't speak about that incident, and that was the only thing Bakura had ever willingly told him about it.

While Yugi and Malik debated the possibility of someone new trying to steal the Millennium Items, Ryou was distracted by Bakura speaking to him. Finally, just to keep his yami happy, Ryou asked the question Bakura wanted answered. "Yugi, Malik, Bakura's wondering where your yamis are now?"

"Yami's with Grandpa at the shop." Yugi smiled slightly. "Last time I saw him he was lying on top of a chessboard about to fall asleep." 

Malik grinned. "Marik went to work with Isis. She just stuck him in her coat pocket. He looked so funny! But he was really happy about it. He loves being with Isis. I think he gets a bit bored just being with me all the time." 

Ryou's heart sank. From the disappointment and sulkiness he suddenly sensed coming from Bakura's soulroom, he knew his hope had been no more than that. A hope. Bakura definitely had something to do with this.

* * *

After school, Ryou and Malik went to the Game Shop with Yugi. Malik wanted to see the 'Pharaoh Kitty' as he'd dubbed Yami, and Ryou had no choice in the matter if he ever hoped to peacefully coexist with Bakura in the near (or even distant, judging by the yami's threats), future. They arrived to find a very surprising scene. 

Grandpa Yugi was standing at the back exit of the shop, watching something in the kitchen. He turned when the bell above the door rang and quickly put his finger to his lips as he gestured the boys to come and see what was going on. Curious, they obeyed. 

A duel was being played in the kitchen. The dueling field had been set up on the kitchen table and the game was well underway. 

Seto Kaiba sat at one end of the board, his glare alternating between the cards in his hand and his opponent. On the other side of the board, Seto's younger brother Mokuba sat, but he wasn't the one Seto was glaring at. That honour was reserved for the tri-colour-furred kitten that sat purring contentedly on the table in front of Mokuba. 

The younger Kaiba swung his legs as he munched on a cookie. Every now and then he'd take a sip from his glass of milk. With his other hand, he lightly stroked the kitten. Every now and then he'd hold the cards up so the kitten could see them. The kitten would then point to a card and Mokuba would grin and play it. That usually resulted in Seto wincing, removing one of his cards from play, then glaring at the kitten again.

Malik tried not to laugh out loud and ended up having a coughing fit. Suddenly aware that they had an audience, Seto Kaiba froze. He sighed and put his cards down. "All right, Mokuba. Enough. You've made your point. I'll do it." 

Mokuba beamed and jumped up. Seto smiled faintly as his brother threw his arms around his neck and hugged him. "Oh thank you, Seto! Thank you!"

Seto stood up. "Thank Mr Moto for the snack and then we'll go." 

"Okay! I'll just say goodbye to Duel!" Mokuba grinned at the purring kitten and gave him a pat. "Thanks Duel! I knew we could do it!" The kitten purred more loudly, his amethyst eyes looking away from Mokuba for a moment as he eyed Seto, who glared back at him. 

After Seto and Mokuba had left, Yugi looked up at his Grandpa in confusion. The man grinned. "Kaiba brought you something Yugi, it's in your room. Apparently he's come up with a new version of his duel disk system and he wants someone to test it. Mokuba told me he's sent them to all of your friends," he nodded at Ryou and Malik, "but he delivered yours personally because he wanted a word with me about them too."

"That's great Grandpa! But what about the duel?"

"I'm getting to that! Anyway, while I was putting it in your room, Mokuba spotted Yami. By the time I returned, Mokuba and Seto were both rather upset. Apparently Mokuba wants a kitten but Seto doesn't. I believe they had quite an argument about it. Mokuba asked me where you'd gotten Yami. I didn't know what to say, but I figured that Yami would not want Seto to know what had happened. So I said that we were minding him for a friend. That was when Seto made his mistake."

"Mistake?" Malik looked up, distracted from his study of Yami. 

Grandpa Yugi chuckled. "Seto said, and I quote, 'Kittens are useless creatures. Why waste your time with them when you could be dueling?'. Naturally, Yami was not happy about that. He started meowing at Seto. I felt sorry for Mokuba, he looked so sad. So, I decided to teach Seto a little lesson. With Yami's help." He winked at Yami, who purred and winked back. 

"I told Seto that not all kittens were useless and that 'Duel' was actually quite unusually gifted in playing Duel Monsters. Naturally, Seto didn't believe me, so…"

Yugi gasped. "Grandpa! You didn't!" 

"I most certainly did! I challenged him to a duel, against Duel! It was Mokuba's idea for him to 'help' Duel. I had intended to do it myself. It was also Mokuba's idea for the little… wager." 

"Wager?" Malik was definitely interested in that. He even stopped petting Yami long enough to listen.

Grandpa Yugi's eyes twinkled. "If Duel won, Mokuba could get a kitten of his own."

Yugi and Malik burst out laughing. Even Ryou managed a chuckle at the thought of Seto Kaiba being beaten in a game of Duel Monsters by his little brother and a kitten. No wonder Seto had agreed to the wager. He would have been confident that there was no way he could lose. It must have come as quite a shock to him when the kitten turned out to be a more than worthy adversary.

* * *

When Isis came to collect Malik an hour later, Ryou had a headache courtesy of his yami's ranting in his soulroom. By then, Ryou was absolutely certain that Bakura was the cause of the other two yamis being turned into kittens. He seemed rather upset that it hadn't made Yami and Yugi completely miserable. 

In fact, quite the opposite had happened. From the moment Yugi sat down on his bed, Yami had lain quietly across his lap while his light stroked him. The pose reminded Ryou of the way Bakura had acted during the evening he'd been a kitten. His yami seemed to be intent on ignoring that memory though. 

As annoyed as he was about Yami and Yugi though, Bakura was absolutely furious when he saw how well Marik and Malik were dealing with the situation.

"Marik!" When Isis appeared at the door to Yugi's room, Malik jumped off the bed, where he, Ryou and Yugi had been sitting while they discussed ways to entertain yami-kittens, and ran happily to her. Isis smiled at him and pulled a small kitten from her coat pocket. Malik hugged his yami and proudly showed him off to Yugi, Ryou and Yami. "See! Here he is! Were you a good kitty today, Marik?" 

Isis laughed. "Surprisingly, yes, he was! He was also a very big hit with the tourists. I lost track of the number of photos they took of him. He loved all the attention. He couldn't get enough of it! You should have heard the women gushing over him. They all thought he was just too cute for words."

Malik grinned and hugged Marik again. "That's because he is!" The kitten purred happily and enthusiastically started licking as much of his light as he could reach. Isis smiled wryly. 

"Yes, but if he ever tries to lick me when he isn't a kitten, he'll find himself grounded faster than a Kuriboh can Multiply."

Yugi blinked. "That's fast." He looked curiously at Malik, then at Isis. "Um… just out of curiosity, how do you ground a yami?" On his lap, Yami's eyes snapped open. He looked suddenly worried.

Malik sighed as Isis grinned and answered. "By grounding their light." Yugi and Ryou both winced. Yami sighed with relief and closed his eyes again.

* * *

Bakura paced from one side of Ryou's bedroom to the other, muttering furiously to himself. "I can't believe they weren't upset about it! They weren't suffering in the slightest! Marik actually seemed to enjoy being a tiny fuzzball and Yami… he was thrilled at having a chance to get one back at Kaiba! Argh! I can't believe I actually made that possible!"

"Neither can I." The soft voice stopped Bakura in his tracks. He swallowed hard and slowly turned around, trying not to wince when he saw the look in his light's eyes. As Ryou began to walk towards him though, Bakura instinctively took a step back. He'd never seen his normally gentle light so angry before. 

"Um… Ryou… I can explain…" He took another step back as his light's normally calm eyes blazed with fury. 

"I don't want to hear it, Bakura!" The yami almost fell over with shock at the sharp tone of his light's voice. "There's no excuse for whatever it is that you've done this time! They did nothing to you! It's just like that whole 'sweet' incident all over again!" Ryou suddenly froze as something clicked in his mind. He fixed his yami with an intent look. "This is about Yugi and Malik calling you 'cute', isn't it?"

Bakura swallowed and nodded hesitantly. "I'm… I'm not… cute…" he somehow managed to say through his shock at the disgusted way in which Ryou was looking at him. 

Ryou sighed and bowed his head; all of his anger draining away as suddenly as it had risen within him. "Of course they called you 'cute', Bakura. You were a small, fluffy kitten. You **were** cute! The same way that **all** small, fluffy kittens are cute! Accept it and get over it! You didn't see Yami and Marik getting all sulky because they were called 'cute', now did you? No. And why? Because they both know perfectly well that kittens are cute! It's one of the reasons why that spell you cast made you a kitten and not a fully grown cat. The cuteness was a necessary part of the spell. It wouldn't have worked nearly as well otherwise."

Bakura had winced and looked down at the floor fairly early into Ryou's lecture. By the end of it, he was biting his lip and felt very uncomfortable as he realised that every word Ryou was saying was true. A part of him had known that it was acceptable for him to be called 'cute' while as a kitten. He just hadn't listened to that part of his heart while he'd been planning his revenge. "I… I'm sorry. I… wasn't thinking straight." He winced at the weak excuse.

Ryou sighed again, more heavily. "I'm not the one you should be apologising to. But it would only make the situation worse if you do, so you're going to get away with it. I have just two questions. How long will the spell on them last and can you reverse it any sooner?"

Bakura couldn't bring himself to look at his light. "The spell was for… a week and no. There was a condition in the spell that it couldn't be reversed." He waited for his light's reaction.

"Consider yourself very lucky that Yami and Marik don't mind being kittens. If they were at all unhappy about it, I would turn you back into a kitten for a month. As it is…" Ryou rubbed his aching forehead. "All of your commotion earlier has given me a dreadful headache. Please, just leave me alone for the rest of the evening. Please." He said it very softly and Bakura could hear the pain and sorrow in his shaky voice. 

"Y… yes, Ryou." Without another word, Bakura quietly left the room. 

He stood shaking in the hallway for several moments as the reality of what had happened hit him. It was the first time Ryou had ever asked to be left alone in such a way. Bakura was stunned to realise how much it hurt knowing how upset Ryou was with him. Suddenly his brilliant idea for revenge didn't seem so brilliant anymore. It just seemed… petty and spiteful. Not to mention stupid.

Suddenly, all Bakura wanted was to go into his soulroom, lie down on his bed and… what? Cry? It was hardly his style, or his nature, to do something so weak. And yet… a part of him wanted to. He knew Ryou would hear him, and he knew he should be embarrassed at that, but that tiny little part of his heart timidly suggested that maybe Ryou would come to comfort him. After all, he had done so once before… 

The thought had barely entered Bakura's mind when it suddenly registered with him that not all of what he was feeling was from his own heart. His eyes snapped open as he realised that he was sensing his light's roiling emotions through their mind-link. Bakura was shocked at the depth of the shame that Ryou felt over what his yami had done to their friends. Suddenly, his own feelings seemed unimportant next to those of his sensitive young light. He had to do something!

Bakura hurried downstairs to the kitchen, where the Book of Secret Arts was lying on the kitchen table. His hand was shaking as he searched through the pages. Finding what he was looking for, he hesitated, silently debating with himself over whether or not it was a good idea. His hand slowly dropped to his side and he sighed, knowing deep down that it wasn't. It would only make matters worse. 

A gust of wind came through the window, surprisingly strong considering that the window was only open a little way. It ruffled the pages of the book, then turned a few of them before leaving as suddenly as it had come. Bakura blinked down at the spell in front of him in shock. He'd cast it before, but… maybe this time it would actually be the right spell instead of an accident.

Before he could change his mind, Bakura cast the spell.

* * *

The door to Ryou's room slowly opened and Bakura peeked inside. His light was lying on the bed but Bakura could see that he wasn't asleep. Ryou was looking at him; his expression so sad that it was all Bakura could do not to leave again. He wasn't good at this sort of thing… It was really more Ryou's specialty. But… he'd come this far. He had to go through with it. He slowly entered the room.

"Go. Please." The faint whisper stopped Bakura in his tracks. He bowed his head and took a deep breath, then kept walking. 

"Here. For your headache." His own voice was soft and hesitant as he put the glass of water and pain relief tablets on the bedside table. 

"Oh. Thank you." Ryou silently took the tablets and lay down again. He hesitated for a moment and then turned his head away. A moment later, Ryou gasped as he felt his yami's hands on his shoulders. "Bakura! What…? How…?" He tried to turn, but his yami gently pushed him back down again. Ryou tensed in shock, then relaxed as Bakura began to rub his back lightly. "Bakura?"

"Don't send me away again, Ryou. Please. Anything… but that." Bakura's voice was little more than a whisper. Ryou felt the bed dip as his yami sat down beside him, Bakura's hands still rubbing Ryou's back soothingly. Ryou sighed.

"How are you doing this?" His yami couldn't usually touch him. 

"I… used the Physical Form spell again. Just for tonight. I… I 'heard' your emotions. I… wanted to… help you. I was going to cast the kitten spell, but… Somehow it didn't feel… right."

Ryou turned his head and smiled slightly at his yami. "Thank you." Bakura smiled slightly back. 

He kept rubbing Ryou's back until the boy fell asleep. Moving carefully so as not to disturb his light's rest, Bakura stood up. Ryou immediately stirred restlessly and Bakura smiled. Some things never changed. It seemed Ryou still couldn't sleep well if he wasn't near. They'd learned that the first time he'd cast this particular spell. Still careful not to wake his light, Bakura lay down beside him and gently gathered the boy into his arms. 

*Ryou didn't like what I did, but now he's talking to me again so it might have been worth it. Yugi did say that the Dark Magician tried to reverse the spell on Yami. I wonder how he's enjoying the little surprise Dark Witch included in the spell, just for him…* 

At the thought, his lips curved into his usual wicked grin. With his light safe and warm in his loose hold and no longer mad at him, Bakura fell asleep to dream very satisfying dreams. 

* * *

__

Meanwhile, in the Shadow Realm…

The Dark Magician Girl's voice floated up the stairs of the Magician's tower, coming closer as she ran up the stairs to the Dark Magician's study. "Darak! I'm going home now! Darak? Are you listening?" Her voice was right outside the door. She sounded very worried. 

"You haven't spoken a word to me all day! Is something wrong? Darak? Darak! Answer me! Please!" A moment's hesitation and then her voice came again. "If you don't answer me, I'm coming in! I mean it! One… two… three… All right, I'm coming in!" The door opened.

The Dark Magician Girl peeked into the room, frowning when she didn't immediately see her teacher's familiar form. "Darak? I know you're in here. I can sense your magic, remember? Just as you can sense mine. Darak, where are you? This isn't funny!" Frowning, she entered the room. "Darak?" She looked around and then her eyes fell on the plump armchair in front of the roaring fire. "Oh! You are just so cute!" 

Grinning, she lifted up the small dark purple furred kitten and held it up in front of her. "No wonder you haven't spoken to me all day! How in the world did you manage to do this to yourself?" Her smile faded as she noticed how sad her teacher looked. 

"Aww… you poor little kitty. You haven't had anything to eat all day have you? Or had anyone looking after you. Well, don't worry about a thing! I'm going to get you something to eat and then I'm taking you home with me! I can't reverse the spell, but maybe one of the others can… I hope so, anyway." She turned and headed for the door, carrying the little kitten. 

"The Magician of Black Chaos called earlier. The Stern Mystic and the Dark Sage are coming for tea tomorrow afternoon. If you're not back to normal by then, they'll give you such a lecture!"

The Dark Magician sighed heavily. For some reason he wasn't surprised by the news of the impending visit by the Shadow Realm Elders. Considering the way his day had gone, he had half been expecting something else to happen. He also had a feeling that Geil's 'family' wouldn't be able to lift the spell. At least… one of them probably would be able to, but he doubted if she'd admit it. 

There were times when he really regretted not rescuing the Dark Witch the time she'd been trapped inside her own jewel. He also had to admit that it had been very stupid of him to actually admit to her that he'd seen the whole thing as it happened…

With another heavy sigh, the Dark Magician added a mark to the Dark Witch's tally on the mental scoreboard in his mind. That made 4,673 to her, 207 to him. He then made a mental note to never again make a female, especially one with a love for vengeance, magic and practical jokes, angry with him. It was the hardly the first mental note of that kind that he'd made over the past few centuries, but it was definitely one that was worth repeating.

To be continued…


	15. Bakura's Dilemma

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: The comments about Ryou seeing Bakura before they 'officially' met refer to events in two of my other stories, 'Never Alone' and its sequel 'Only a Dream'.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 15: Bakura's Dilemma  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou winced as the voice ranting constantly in his mind finally succeeding in doing what it had been threatening to do for the past half-hour. It became loud enough to completely drown out the Christmas music being piped through the department store. He winced again as his head pounded in time with his yami's complaints. The headache that he'd had since his and Bakura's argument earlier that morning over the shopping trip had grown steadily worse and it now felt as though a hundred Steel Ogre Grotto's (both #1 and #2) were pounding at his skull. The pain was beginning to make him feel rather ill. 

He took a step and the room spun dizzily around him for a moment. Desperately, Ryou closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, trying to ignore both the pain and the loud ranting that no one beside himself could hear. A brief thought flickered through his mind that it was a good thing the store was so busy with shoppers searching for last-minute Christmas presents. No one would notice him just standing there and no one would pay any attention if he quietly fainted. 

*Ryou? Light? Are you all right?* 

It took Ryou a moment to realise that Bakura had stopped ranting. It took him a moment more to notice the concern in his yami's now surprisingly soft voice. *I'm fine.* He could barely manage to reply.

*No. You're not. I'm taking over.* Before Ryou could even think about arguing, the switch had been made and Bakura was in control of their body. He immediately staggered as he felt the pain that his light had been silently enduring. "Oh Ra…"

Ignoring the suspicious looks that his muttered comment gained from a passing elderly woman, Bakura mentally scolded his light. *You idiot! Why didn't you say you were sick? We're going home right now!*

*No!* Ryou's mental voice was soft but insistent. There was a pleading note in it that made Bakura want to cringe. "Please, Bakura. It's Christmas Eve tomorrow and I still have so much shopping to do. If we go home now, I won't get it all done! I'm not ill! Really! It's just a headache from all of the… crowd. That's all.*

A jolt of guilt struck Bakura as he instinctively substituted 'noise' for 'crowd' in Ryou's speech. He had been so busy complaining about having to waste so much time and energy on something as useless as Christmas shopping that he hadn't noticed how all the noise had been affecting his light. *Maybe if we could find somewhere… quiet… Somewhere we could rest up for a bit…* Bakura gave in grudgingly. It was worth it though to sense Ryou's relief.

*I know just the place.*

* * *

Bakura leaned against the cool wall of the small changing cubicle and sighed softly. Ryou had been right, the changing rooms were a lot quieter than the rest of the store. The headache was starting to fade to a dull pounding. Irritating, but acceptable. He wasn't prepared to return control of their body to his light just yet though. He also wasn't ready to give up on his argument.

*I still don't get it, Ryou. Why do we have to do this? It seems like a waste of time to me. Not to mention a waste of money. Why are you getting stuff for everyone else instead of us? I saw you get that Silver Duelist CD and I know it's for Joey. I also know you've wanted it for months but haven't bought it because you were saving up for this shopping trip! How does that make any sort of sense?* Bakura was careful to keep his mental voice down to a low growl this time. 

*Bakura…* The spirit could hear The Tone in Ryou's voice. That peculiar mix of amusement, exasperation and, curse it to the shadows, fondness, that his light used only on the very rare occasions when he was too tired or too at ease with Bakura to keep his usual guard from slipping. As he always did, Bakura pretended not to notice. Also as always, he was stunned to realise how much warmth that tone, even in a single word, could bring to his cold soul. 

Bakura sighed. His light had just won their argument and he didn't even realise it. 

*Oh fine. We'll finish your stupid shopping trip. But I insist that you get something for us too! Is that clear?* 

Just because Ryou had won, Bakura didn't see any reason why he couldn't benefit from it. There was also no way he was admitting to the reason for his sudden change of mind. The less his light knew about how he affected him, the better, in Bakura's opinion.

* * *

Several hours and a half-dozen or so bulging bags of shopping later, Ryou staggered through the back door of his home and into the kitchen. He groaned softly as he rested the bags on the floor for a moment while he nudged the door shut with his hip. He groaned again when he lifted the bags back up and started for his room. *Stop laughing,* he told his yami irritably as the spirit's chuckle echoed through his mind. *It isn't funny!*

"I think it is." 

Ryou gasped and almost lost his footing on the stairs as the husky voice came from behind him without warning. He thought he felt the lightest of touches on his back as he regained his balance, as though Bakura had reached out to steady him, but that was impossible since the spirit wasn't in a physical form. Bakura continued speaking as though nothing unusual had happened, so Ryou decided that he must have been mistaken.

"If you'd listened to me, Ryou, you wouldn't have been caught in the closing-time rush at the store, or on the subway. If you'd taken my advice and gotten everything wrapped there instead of insisting on getting the paper and stuff and doing it yourself, you wouldn't have had so many bags to carry either. Then that guy wouldn't have chased you through the park…" Bakura paused to consider that. "No, that probably would have still happened. You seem to attract that sort of trouble. But at least you wouldn't have ended up tripping over your shopping and sprawling in the grass. It's a good thing I was there to stop him." Bakura looked as smug as Ryou had ever seen him look.

"If I'd left when you'd said to, we would have had to go back there tomorrow, and I assure you that the crowds today are nothing compared to what they'll be like on Christmas Eve." Ryou shuddered at the thought and started up the stairs again, still speaking. "Wrapping the presents is half the fun and as for the incident in the park… Firstly, it wasn't my fault and secondly, I still think you were rather harsh on him."

Bakura shook his head and scowled at his overly kindhearted light. "He was going to rob you, Ryou." 

"That's no reason for you to steal his soul and seal it in the nearest rubbish bin!" Ryou protested.

Bakura snorted. "I don't know what you're worried about. I already told you, it's only temporary. Another hour or two and his soul will return to him, safe and sound. He'll be a bit confused for a week or so, but at least it should convince him to try another line of work!"

Ryou sighed and shook his head, but made no reply as he continued to lug his shopping up to his bedroom. The bustle of the shops had caused his earlier headache to return, although not nearly as bad as it had been, and he really didn't have the strength to argue with his yami just then. It was all he could manage to wrestle the shopping bags into his room. 

When he finally dumped them on his bed, Ryou breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment he eyed the bed, thinking how invitingly soft it looked. He was tired and his head was hurting. The thought of lying down for even a few minutes was tempting beyond belief. With a shuddering breath, Ryou forced himself to turn away. He knew that if he lay down, then he'd only end up falling asleep and he'd probably sleep through until dawn. Considering all the wrapping that he had to do that night, that would be a very bad idea. In fact, Ryou decided, he really should get started right away.

* * *

Bakura sat on the bed and watched in idle curiosity as his light cleared off the desk and gathered together what he needed for his wrapping marathon. Scissors, tape and a pen came out of the top drawer and then Ryou started pulling rolls of wrapping paper, packets of gift tags, spools of metallic ribbon and bags of shiny metallic bows out of one of his shopping bags. Bakura blinked. He didn't really want his light to know how fascinating he found the procedure, but he couldn't resist asking, "Do you really need all of that stuff just to wrap up a few presents?"

Ryou chuckled. "Some of it is optional, but I always like to make a little more effort when it's for Christmas. After all, it is a very special time of year." 

Bakura snorted. "Yeah. I'm sure the shopkeepers feel the same way. They certainly make enough out of it!" 

Ryou blinked and stared at his yami in surprise. "Bakura?" 

He kept staring at him, as though he couldn't believe his eyes. Bakura began to get rather uncomfortable. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"Oh dear… I had no idea…" Ryou suddenly became rather flustered. He bit his lip anxiously as he kept looking at his yami. "Don't you… like Christmas?" Ryou finally asked hesitantly.

Bakura shrugged. "I don't really care either way. It's just another day to me. We never had it back in Egypt, so I don't see what the big deal about it is now." 

Ryou blinked. He slowly crossed the room and sank onto the bed beside Bakura, forcing the spirit to turn slightly so he could still see him. Ryou tried to speak a few times, but he was too stunned. He couldn't believe that he hadn't realised it sooner. 

"This is your first Christmas!" The words finally burst out and Ryou instantly looked embarrassed to have said them. "I… I mean…" A faint tide of red crept into his cheeks. It deepened as Bakura chuckled in amusement at his light's discomfort. 

"Not really. It is Yami's though. He was the one stuck inside a box for all those years, waiting for Yugi to put the puzzle together. I, on the other hand, was free whenever the Ring was stolen from the Gravekeepers." His evil grin made Bakura's glittering eyes seem even darker than usual. "It's amazing just how often that happened."

Ryou was surprised. It was the first time Bakura had ever mentioned anything about it. "You mean… I'm not the first one that you've… been a part of." 

He thought he'd managed to hide his disappointment, but the swift, startled glance that Bakura shot him made him suspect otherwise. Ryou quickly smiled, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. "Did you make them wander around at all hours of the night in their pajamas too?" The joke was weak, but it seemed to work. Bakura chuckled, apparently distracted from the other comment.

"Most of them wore robes. It's an Egyptian thing." He watched his light closely and was relieved when his response earned him a small smile. Still, Ryou's unguarded comment remained at the back of Bakura's mind and he remained silent about it solely because he wasn't sure what to say.

An uneasy silence filled the room for a few moments before Ryou suddenly stood up. "Well, this may not be your first Christmas ever, but it is your first Christmas as my yami, so… What?" Bakura was giving him a very odd look. It looked like he was trying not to laugh.

Bakura couldn't resist. "Well, actually, you've had the Ring for a few years now…"

Ryou frowned at him. "They don't count, since this is the first year I've known about you." 

Bakura grinned. "What do you call all those times you saw me in your soulroom? Sure, I didn't exactly introduce myself but still… You came into my soulroom a couple of times too, for that matter." He didn't realise his mistake until he saw the look of stunned realisation dawn on Ryou's face. *Oh Ra… that's right, I made him forget about those visits…*

Ryou fixed his yami with a very serious look. "Bakura…"

"Oh, I just remembered, I was in the middle of something in my soulroom…" Bakura vanished, but that didn't prevent him from hearing Ryou's annoyed voice.

"Bakura, if you've messed with my memories, you are going to be one very sorry yami for a very long time!"

* * *

Ryou's mood improved as he carefully wrapped the Christmas presents for his friends. Finally, he only had one left to do. But before he could wrap it, he had to make sure that Bakura didn't see it. 

Concentrating, Ryou left his physical body and entered his soulroom. He started over to the door that linked his room to the corridor, but paused as he remembered his yami's earlier comment. He slowly looked around the room. It looked the same as it always did. Maybe Bakura had only been joking earlier… although Ryou didn't really believe that for a moment. With a soft sigh, he left his soulroom and headed for the room on the opposite side of the corridor. 

"Bakura…" Ryou paused on the threshold of his yami's soulroom as a sudden feeling of déjà vu washed over him. He'd felt it before but had always ignored it. Now though, with Bakura's odd comment still fresh in his mind, he paid more attention to it. 

Bakura had been asleep but he awoke the moment his soulroom door opened. Leaning on one elbow, he looked over at the doorway in surprise. His light rarely came into his soulroom without an invitation. "Ryou? What is it?" As Ryou came closer, Bakura noticed the guarded expression on his light's face and winced. *Oh Ra… Don't tell me he's still thinking about what I said earlier…* 

Ryou didn't stop until he was standing beside his yami's bed. He frowned down at Bakura, willing himself not to give in just because his yami looked uncomfortable. "I need you to go take a little walk or something."

Bakura blinked in shock. "What? Look, I'm sorry, all right? I did what I thought best. You weren't ready to know about me. You shouldn't have seen me at all, it's just that… you were asleep and I went in to… check on you and you… woke up before I could leave. I didn't really do anything… Honest! I just… kinda… made you think it was all just a dream. You thought that anyway, it was just a little part of you that wasn't convinced. It was upsetting you, trying to figure it out, so I really did you a favour. I mean…" Bakura trailed off as he realised. *Curse it to the shadows… now he's got me rambling…* 

Annoyed with himself, he did what he always did at such times. He scowled at his light. It wasn't very effective since he was still half lying down, so he pulled himself into a sitting position, crossed his arms and tried it again. "You can't take revenge for something you don't even remember!"

Ryou had listened to every word, at first with stunned surprise and finally with amusement. Now, with his grumpy yami scowling up at him, he did the only thing he could think of doing. He reached out and lightly tapped Bakura on his nose. "Aside from the fact that it's because I can't remember that I probably should 'take revenge' as you put it, that's not what I meant. I need to wrap up your Christmas present and I don't want you seeing it."

Bakura blinked, not sure whether he was more relieved at his light not being angry with him or more stunned that Ryou had bought him a Christmas present. He blinked again and realised that his light was still talking. "Um… could you say that again. I missed it." 

Ryou smiled slightly. "I said that I'm going to close our link, but I knew that if you were in here when I did, you'd be sure to come out to see what was going on. So I thought the easiest way was to have you go out of the room entirely. I bought a couple of card booster packs while we were out. Well, you did say that you wanted me to get something for us as well. I thought you could maybe go through them. Perhaps in the kitchen?"

* * *

Bakura stood in the kitchen, idly turning the five card booster packs over and over in his hands as he tried to come up with a solution to his unexpected problem. 

A few weeks earlier, everyone had agreed that it would be easiest, not to mention most practical, for the yamis to simply share their lights' presents, both in giving and receiving. After all, the only way for a yami to buy a present was to borrow the money for it from his light. The spirits couldn't take objects into their soulrooms either, so any gift would end up in his light's possession most of the time anyway. Everyone had been happy about it, especially Bakura. He'd thought he'd been let off the hook and wouldn't have to worry about any presents. But as soon as Ryou had mentioned having a gift for him, he'd realised that wasn't the case. 

*Shadows… I'd better get something for him too. I guess I'll have to borrow his body tomorrow and go shopping again.* Bakura pulled a face at the thought. He'd barely restrained himself from sending all of the crowd of shoppers into the Shadow Realm the first time…

Bakura was still standing there, lost in thought, when Ryou came into the room. "I'm all done, Bakura!" Ryou's smile faded when he saw how distracted his yami was. "Bakura? Is something wrong?" He caught a glimpse of guilt in Bakura's eyes before the spirit managed to hide it. Ryou sighed. "What have you done now?" 

"Nothing!" Bakura denied instinctively, then winced. "Well… actually that's sort of the problem… There's something that I kind of… forgot to do. I'll have to do it tomorrow. No big deal." 

Ryou looked worried. "Well, as long as it doesn't involve me having to go anywhere. Oh dear…" He saw the answer on his yami's face. "I was going to spend tomorrow cooking… but I guess I could spare a half hour or so."

Bakura looked away so his light wouldn't see his reaction. Half an hour wouldn't be enough time, but he could hardly borrow his light's body for the hours that a shopping trip would take. Not when his light had already made plans. Ryou always got upset with him whenever he did that. Last time, it had earned him a whole week of Ryou not talking to him. Bakura really didn't want that to happen again. There was nothing more boring than being a spirit who could only communicate to one person most of the time when that one person wasn't speaking to you! No, he'd have to figure out something else. 

To be continued…


	16. Christmas Eve

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 16: Christmas Eve  
By Shadow's Mirror

It was Christmas Eve and Bakura sat silent and still on the wide windowsill of Ryou's room, his eyes gazing sightlessly out onto the moonlit world. Every now and then, the spirit would turn his head to check on the boy sleeping uneasily in the bed a few feet away. 

The day had been a difficult one and Bakura was glad that it was all over, for Ryou's sake. Realising that his hands were clenched into fists again, Bakura forced himself to relax. His sensitive light was all too likely to pick up on his tension and he didn't want Ryou to wake until morning. Christmas would be hard enough for Ryou without adding a sleepless night to his worries.

Normally Ryou's father was away for the holidays. Ryou and Bakura had become used to that. Bakura actually preferred it that way, since it meant that he didn't need to worry about his light being upset or tense, which was the normal state he was in whenever his father was home. They had assumed that this Christmas would be the same, since Father had only been home a few weeks earlier. Usually, that meant that he wouldn't be back for a few more months. This time though… Father had arrived just as Ryou had been taking his first batch of Christmas cookies out of the oven.

To say the man had been disappointed to find his son doing something that he deemed 'feminine' was an understatement. He'd all but ordered Ryou out of the kitchen for the day, despite the boy's protests that he had a lot of cooking to do. Father had ended up shouting at Ryou and sending him to his room. He had also coldly informed the shaken boy that they would be spending the next week together as a family, and that Ryou would not be allowed to go over to his friends' places. 

The man had then told Ryou that he was sure that Ryou's friends would be too busy with their own Christmas plans to see him anyway. It was the cruelest thing the man could possibly have said to his rather timid and insecure son. Bakura was still amazed that he'd been able to keep himself from sending Father to the Shadow Realm in retaliation. The only thing stopping him had been the knowledge that it would have made Ryou feel even worse. 

Bakura smiled smugly. At least he'd been able to make sure that Ryou got all of his Christmas baking done. As soon as they'd reached Ryou's room, Bakura had summoned Nemuriko. The deceptively innocent-looking Shadow Monster controlled a powerful sleep fiend, so it had been an easy matter for him to put Father into a sleep so deep that not even the smell of freshly baked cookies had awoken him. Bakura had been happy because he'd gotten one over on Father. Ryou had been happy because he'd been able to finish his baking. Even Nemuriko and his sleep fiend had been happy, since Ryou had rewarded them each with a cookie hot from the oven. The only one who hadn't been happy about it was Father. When he'd awoken mid-afternoon, he had been rather confused by his long nap, but in the end he'd put it down to jet lag from his journey home. 

Unfortunately, Father had then spent the rest of the day criticizing or lecturing his son in one way or another, with Ryou growing more distressed by the hour. Bakura was fed up with Father by dinner time, but Ryou had managed to last until nightfall before his tension resulted in a fierce headache that had almost made him faint in pain. Bakura had taken control of their body just in time. He had stalked out of the room, leaving Father gaping in shock at his son's behaviour. It had earned Bakura a lecture, but at least he'd been able to spare Ryou both the indignity of fainting, the lecture it would have earned him and the lecture from his walking out. He'd endured it silently, throwing up a mental barricade so Ryou did not hear a word Father said as he rested in his soulroom.

The memory made Bakura look over at his light again. The glance confirmed that Ryou was still sleeping, although the way that he was tossing and turning made Bakura think that his dreams weren't exactly restful. Considering the boy had cried himself to sleep, Bakura wasn't surprised. 

On top of everything else, with Father in the house they'd had to get their two little kittens out of the way. Although they were invisible, they could still be heard and it would be very difficult to feed them without Father finding out. Ryou hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to Fluffy and Dragon, since he'd been busy keeping Father occupied while Bakura summoned Dark Witch and asked her if she could mind them until Father went home again. Dark Witch had agreed. She had also offered to hit Father over the head with her spear a few times, which Bakura had found almost too tempting an offer to resist. Even Ryou had managed a small smile when he heard about it.

The spirit sighed softly and looked out of the window again. What had promised to be a good Christmas was now looking like being a nightmare. Ryou could only take so much of Father's almost constant criticism and he really hated disappointing him. Bakura knew that Ryou would be so busy trying to please Father that he'd be tense and nervous all day. He definitely wouldn't enjoy himself. Bakura also knew that Ryou was extremely disappointed over not being allowed to see his friends at Yugi's the following day, as they'd all planned. He had to admit, he'd been rather looking forward to it himself. 

*Shame I can't have Nemuriko put Father to sleep for the whole day, but that would be pushing my luck. He'd know something was up. Father would probably think Ryou had slipped him sleeping pills or something. There has to be something I can do though. I won't let Father ruin our first Christmas together!* 

Bakura's eyes blazed and it was a long moment before he realised what he'd thought. His anger faded into shock as he understood. Although he'd joked with Ryou about it earlier, in his heart he did consider this to be their first real Christmas. 

He slowly turned his head. For some reason that he couldn't put a name to, at that moment Bakura really needed to know that his light was there, safe and sound. For a long moment he simply watched the sleeping boy, then he silently sighed. *It was ruined anyway. I never got Ryou anything.* An image of Ryou's happily expectant face popped into Bakura's mind. He winced as the image changed to one of Ryou feeling disappointed, but trying not to show it. That was a look Bakura knew all too well. 

Pulling his knees up to his chest, Bakura looked out the window again. *Still… present or no present… at least Ryou would have been able to visit his friends. He would have been happy.* 

The thought burned into Bakura's mind, refusing to go away. *It would have… made him happy… like… a gift… That's it!* Bakura jumped off the windowsill and grinned triumphantly at his sleeping light. *That's what I'll get Ryou for Christmas! I'll find a way to get around Father so Ryou can visit with his friends!*

Bakura started pacing across the room and back as he thought. *It's perfect! Now all I need to do is work out how to do it. That shouldn't be too difficult. I'm an expert tomb robber. I've stolen treasures from the most heavily guarded tombs in Egypt. I even managed to get into the Pharaoh's tomb. Okay… that wasn't my brightest idea, but still, I can scheme and plan with the best of them… Heh… I **am** the best of them! Getting around one mortal man shouldn't be any trouble at all!*

* * *

*Oh Ra… I am in deep trouble.* Bakura sighed heavily as he sulked on the windowsill. He'd been scheming for over an hour and all he had to show for it was a headache. Every plan that he'd managed to come up with had been flawed in some way. Usually, the flaw was that there was no way it would work! 

There had been one plan that he'd liked, but since it required two camels, four burly men in satin vests and leather pants and a cassette recording of Seto Kaiba singing in the shower, he'd had to admit defeat. The camels and men he could manage, but there was no way he was submitting himself to the torture of taping Kaiba singing. Just the thought of it was enough to make Bakura cringe. 

Unfortunately, that left him right back where he'd started, and with Christmas morning now so near that it was almost too late to put a plan into effect. If he'd had a plan.

Bakura sighed again and looked around the room, hoping for a flash of inspiration. Much to his surprise, he did see a flash. Or rather, a gleam. Curious, and more than willing for something to take his mind off the situation, Bakura slipped off the windowsill and went to have a look. 

A shaft of moonlight shone through the window, it's silvery-white beam glinting off a silver bow lying forgotten on the floor beside Ryou's desk. Bakura sighed as he remembered how happy Ryou had been while wrapping his gifts the night before. Suddenly angry, he viciously kicked the bow. It flew up, arced through the air and then landed… on the Book of Secret Arts where it lay half hidden beneath the desk. 

Bakura stared at the book in shock, suddenly remembering how Ryou had quickly shoved it under the desk when Father had barged into the room without knocking at one point during the day. What with everything that had happened since, Bakura had completely forgotten about it!

As he picked up the book, Bakura began to smile. As he placed it gently on the desk, Bakura's dark eyes began to gleam with excitement. As he opened the book, his mouth curved into a wicked smirk and his eyes glittered and seemed to turn several shades darker. 

*Yes. This book is the key! That cursed magician put so many useless spells in here, there's bound to be something I can use to get Father out of the way for a day or two!* Bakura barely restrained himself from chuckling at the thought. 

He bent over the book, his Millennium Ring helpfully glowing to illuminate the pages for him to read them more easily. Unfortunately, not even the Ring could help him to read the Dark Magician's almost illegible scrawl, or enable the Japanese writing in the index pages to be more easily translated by Bakura. Still, the spirit refused to let that stop him. He started to decipher his way through the index of spells, charms and curses.

* * *

Two hours later, Bakura's straining eyes refused to cooperate any longer. His vision blurred for the fifth time in as many minutes and the spirit slumped in his chair as he closed them and slowly rubbed his forehead. The headache caused by his hour of fruitless scheming earlier in the night had grown with every word Bakura had managed to read. It had officially become classed as 'intense and nauseating pain' about an hour and a half into his study of the spellbook, but he'd refused to give up until he'd found a spell he could use on Father. Now though…

*It's no use. I've read the whole index and there's nothing that looks even the least bit useful! Well… not for dealing with Father anyway. There's one I'm definitely going to be trying the first chance I get. But I need something now!* Bakura growled beneath his breath, careful not to make too much noise and wake Ryou. He'd already come close a couple of times when he'd forgotten and cursed out loud or accidentally sent a thought through his mental link with his light. This time though, he remembered to keep his thoughts to himself. 

*Maybe I missed something. It wouldn't be the first time. There are a lot of spells in here and that cursed magician didn't always say exactly what they did. Like that cat one.* Bakura winced at the memory of when he'd mistaken a transformation spell for a weather spell. He glared at the book. *Cursed magician. He couldn't make it easy on a spirit, could he? No, of course not! I can't tell what half these spells really do! That cursed magician's probably the only one who knows…*

Bakura stopped himself in mid-thought as he realised. There might be someone else who knew what each of the spells did. Someone who would be sympathetic and help him out. 

*Shadow Realm, here I come!*

* * *

*Curse it to the Shadows! How do I always get myself into these things?* Bakura mentally asked himself as he pressed up against a large tree. He glanced cautiously out from behind the wide trunk and breathed a sigh of relief. *Good. It's gone.* He turned back and froze in shock as he came face to face with the Man Eater Bug that had been chasing him ever since he arrived in the Shadow Realm. 

With a startled yelp, Bakura tried to dart to the side so he could run, but the bug moved too. It easily shadowed his movements and the spirit could tell that it was only toying with him. There was no way it would allow him to escape. 

Not for the first time, Bakura cursed himself for leaving his dueling deck behind when he'd come through the portal. Thinking it was only going to be a short trip, just long enough to find Dark Witch and ask her about the spells, he hadn't even given a second thought to what he'd do if he ran into trouble. He'd assumed that the power of the Ring would be enough, but when he'd tried to use it on the bug… for some reason it hadn't worked. That meant that without his dueling deck, Bakura had no way of defending himself. 

The bug came a little closer and Bakura couldn't keep himself from flinching. He tried to run again and the bug apparently grew bored with its game. One of its sharp pincers shot out. Bakura winced in pain as his shoulder was suddenly pinned to the tree. The bug leaned in, it's jaws opening. The spirit braced himself for the attack… but it wasn't the Man Eater Bug that did the attacking!

A long vine whipped out and struck the bug with a loud crack. The bug cried out and moved back, but it couldn't escape the whipping vines that suddenly came from all sides. Knowing it was defeated, the bug had no choice but to make its escape. "Good riddance." 

Bakura gasped and looked around, trying to find the source of the whispery voice. "Who's there? Show yourself!" 

"Well… that's gratitude, I must say. I did just save your life, you know." The voice sounded like wind rustling through the leaves of a tree, with just a slight hint of amusement. Bakura didn't see what was so funny.

"Did you? So you controlled those vines huh?" He still couldn't see anyone.

"That's right." The voice seemed to be coming from behind him and somewhere above his head.

"I can't think of any monster that does that. Who are you?" Bakura frowned. There was no one there… except… he blinked at the tree he was leaning against and leaned in to study it more closely. He leaped back in alarm as a face suddenly took shape on the gnarled trunk. The face smiled at him. 

"I am the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment, Bakura. It is not safe in these woods for a yami without his magic."

Bakura scowled at the tree. "What do you mean? Who says I don't have any magic?" He held the Ring tightly, suspicious that the tree knew that his Millennium Item wasn't working.

"The Dark Magician was ambushed near here about an hour ago. Unfortunately, Dark Witch put a little too much energy into her Magic Jammer spell. It will be several hours yet before any magic will work in this forest." There was a note of resignation in the whispery voice that suggested that this wasn't the first time it had happened. 

"Oh." Bakura grinned at the news. He knew he should have been annoyed by it, but the thought of the Dark Magician being ambushed by Dark Witch was just too good. "Well, thanks for the help. Not that I needed it. I would have escaped on my own. Still, you saved me the trouble." Bakura started to walk away, but the tree's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"A favour for a favour, is that not fair?"

Bakura slowly turned around, glaring at the tree. "What are you talking about?"

"I did you a favour. You know it as well as I do. There is something that you can do for me in return." 

Bakura sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, the tree had a point. "What?"

"When you return to the outside world, ask Mokuba about a girl named Morgan who uses Fire Sorcerer. He'll know who you mean. She needs your help, Bakura." 

Bakura blinked. "A girl named Morgan needs my help? What in the Shadows…?" 

The tree chuckled softly. "Don't worry, it's nothing you'll object to. In fact, you'll probably enjoy it. Her brother stole her Fire Sorcerer card and refuses to admit it, let alone give it back. She is miserable without her favourite card and Fire Sorcerer is miserable without his favourite master. He's been moping around the forest ever since it happened. Just seeing him is enough to make a tree depressed. Not to mention the fact that when he's miserable he has a bad habit of setting things on fire by accident. But he has good reason for being so sad. She is the only one from your world who has ever been able to sense his heart within the cards. Morgan's brother is a nasty little boy who thinks Duel Monsters is just a childish game. He needs a little… persuasion to return the card."

Bakura smirked, his interest caught. "You're right, that does sound like fun. All right. I'll do it."

The tree smiled. "I'll make a deal with you Bakura. If you agree to help her tomorrow, then I will give you the answer you are searching for."

The spirit blinked, surprised. "You mean… you know how I can get Father out of the way for a few days?" 

"Oh, better than that. I know how you can get him to let you and Ryou do whatever you wish to do, not only with his permission, but with his willing assistance." The tree's eyes sparkled in amusement as Bakura leaned forward eagerly.

"All right. You've got yourself a deal! If it works, I'll be seeing Mokuba in the morning so I'll ask him about the girl then. Once I know how to find her, I'll pay her brother a little visit. She'll have her card back by…" Bakura was about to say 'nightfall' but paused to reconsider. "Midnight. I could do it by nightfall, but my cards are more effective after dark." He smirked as his mind began running through the possibilities. 

"Fair enough," the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment agreed. "Here's what you need to do…"

To be continued…


	17. A Christmas Surprise

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 17: A Christmas Surprise  
By Shadow's Mirror

When Ryou woke on Christmas morning, he found Bakura curled up on the bed beside him in his spirit form, sound asleep. The light smiled affectionately at his yami. Bakura looked so innocent when he was asleep… so… sweet… 

Bakura's eyes snapped open and he scowled as his eyes met Ryou's. "Don't start that again! I am **not** sweet!" 

Ryou blinked and blushed guiltily. "Not now, no," he agreed quietly, then couldn't hold back a chuckle at the furious look his yami gave him. "I was just agreeing with you!" he protested.

"Well you didn't have to agree so quickly!" Bakura responded instinctively and it took him a moment to realise what he'd just said. "Oh… Ra…" While Ryou collapsed on the bed, helpless with laughter, the spirit scrambled to his feet and stalked over to the window. He stood there with his back to his light, so Ryou wouldn't see the tide of red that Bakura could feel rising into his cheeks. 

When Bakura thought it was safe to do so, he turned and scowled at his amused light. "When you're through laughing, I have some news for you. It's about Father." Bakura wasn't sure if he was pleased or annoyed when that stopped Ryou laughing immediately. At the boy's startled look, he relented. "Relax, it's nothing bad. I just… had a bit of time on my hands last night so I paid a quick visit to the Shadow Realm."

Ryou blinked. He hadn't expected that. "The Shadow Realm? Did you go to see Dark Witch?" His eyes suddenly widened and he glanced over at his desk, where the Book of Secret Arts was lying in plain sight. Ryou went pale. "Oh no… Bakura… what have you done?" 

Bakura scowled at his suspicious light. "Why do you always ask me that? I haven't done anything! All right, I'll admit I went to the Shadow Realm to ask Dark Witch if she knew of a spell that would get Father out of our way. Just for a day or two," he quickly reassured Ryou when the boy turned pale. "But I didn't end up seeing her. I got… distracted." 

He sighed when Ryou gave him a quizzical look. "If you must know, I got chased by a cursed Man Eater Bug! All right? Happy now?" He glared at Ryou. "Don't you dare laugh! It's not funny! The thrice-cursed to the Shadows monster almost ate me!" He was smugly satisfied when that caused Ryou to stop laughing. 

"Bakura! Are you all right? Were you hurt?" Ryou almost fell out of bed in his rush to get to his yami. He hurried across the room and stared anxiously into Bakura's eyes, seeking reassurance that his yami was really okay. 

Bakura shifted uncomfortably under Ryou's scrutiny. "I'm fine. Stop fussing, Ryou. The bug got chased away by the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment." 

Ryou breathed a sigh of relief, then his eyes lit up with excitement. "You met the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment? Really? I've always loved that card!"

"You have?" Bakura stared at Ryou in surprise for a moment before he shook himself out of his shock and resumed his story. "Yes, I met him. We made a deal. He told me what to do about Father and in return we're to help some girl with a bully for a brother." 

"A girl?" It was Ryou's turn to be surprised, but then he remembered something Mokuba had told him a few days earlier. "Her name wouldn't be Morgan by any chance, would it?" 

"Yeah. How did you know?" 

"Mokuba mentioned that a girl in his class was very upset because her favourite card had disappeared. I take it that her brother stole it?" 

"That's what the tree said. Anyway, I agreed and the tree kept his end of the deal." 

Ryou bit his lip nervously. "I'm afraid to ask…" he admitted softly, not daring to hope that Bakura might have a reasonable way of dealing with Father. He felt guilty just considering doing anything to his own father, but he knew Bakura couldn't take another day like the one before. If something wasn't done, Father would probably end up with his soul consigned for a few millennia to the Shadow Realm. That, or sealed up for all eternity inside a teapot, as Bakura had suggested during dinner the night before. "It won't… hurt him?"

Bakura smirked. "You're too soft-hearted Ryou. No, it won't hurt him. It also won't last long, so I'll wait until it's time for us to go to Yugi's before I do it."

"Before you do what, exactly?" Ryou asked anxiously. Bakura was enjoying himself just a little too much for his light's peace of mind. Then Ryou had another thought. "And why are you suddenly so determined to go to Yugi's anyway? Last week, you groaned when I said that we'd been invited. As I recall, you tried to bribe me not to go. Surely it's not just because of Father… is it?"

"No." Bakura's wicked grin made Ryou very uneasy. "Remember when I took over our body at lunchtime a few days ago?"

"While we were at school? I remember. I'd stayed up most of the night before studying for that math exam and was too tired to eat. What about it?" 

"While you were asleep in your soulroom, Duke told me what he'd gotten Joey for Christmas." Ryou looked curious. Bakura smirked. "A dog collar." 

"Oh… oh my…" Ryou slowly sank down onto the bed, his mind reeling with the possible consequences of something that only Duke would think of doing. 

"Oh, but that's not all." Bakura's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Don't forget, Mokuba's managed to persuade Seto to go too."

"I don't know if 'persuasion' is quite the right word…" Ryou smiled faintly at the memory of what had happened after school, the same day Bakura had spoken to Duke. He could still see Mokuba looking up into his big brother's eyes, all sweetness and light, having just tricked him into promising to do whatever Mokuba wanted them to do for Christmas. He could also remember the look of horrified shock on Seto's face when Mokuba announced that he wanted them to go to the gathering at Yugi's. Then Bakura's meaning sank in and Ryou's eyes widened in shock. 

"Oh! Wait! When Seto sees the dog collar…" He glanced at Bakura for confirmation of what he thought would happen.

Bakura smiled dreamily. "You know Kaiba. He won't be able to resist commenting. It will be chaos. Beautiful chaos. Hey! Where are you going? Oh no you don't! You are not warning Yugi!" Ryou had started for the phone. He was halfway there when Bakura caught up with him. 

The spirit reached out, intending to merge with Ryou and take control of his body to stop him from spoiling the best entertainment of the day. Light and yami both froze in stunned amazement when Bakura's arms slipped around Ryou's waist and stayed there, as real as if he was in a physical form.

"B…Bakura?" Ryou looked at his yami over his shoulder. His eyes were wide with surprise but there was also the faintest tinge of colour in his cheeks. 

Bakura swallowed, unable to answer the unspoken question. In fact, he seemed unable to do anything except stand perfectly still with his startled eyes locked on his light's and his arms around Ryou's waist. Bakura was suddenly all too aware of the sight, smell and feel of the slightly smaller boy's slender body as it rested lightly against his own. 

With a soft gasp, Bakura abruptly released his hold and stumbled a few steps back. Ryou slowly turned around, an uncertain look in his eyes. The two boys stood staring at each other, too stunned to notice the ringing of the phone or the heavy footsteps coming along the hallway.

The door flew open. "Ryou, one of your friends is on the phone." Father's curt voice made them both turn, Bakura too startled to even think of retreating to his soulroom. He tensed, then relaxed when Father kept talking, clearly unable to see him. 

"Don't talk long. Breakfast will be ready in half an hour and then we'll open our presents." He frowned at his son, wondering why the boy was looking so shaken. "Ryou? Aren't you going to pick up your phone?"

Ryou shook himself. "Oh. Yes. Of course. Thank you, Father." Ryou picked up the phone. He heard his father hang up the other extension just as Yugi's happy squeal came through the receiver. It was loud enough for Bakura to hear it too. The spirit raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Merry Christmas, Ryou!" Yugi sounded excited and Ryou thought he heard a soft giggle at the end of the outburst. 

"Merry Christmas, Yugi. What's going on?" Ryou had a feeling he knew the answer. His eyes locked with Bakura's as his yami moved closer. He pulled the receiver slightly away from his ear and Bakura leaned in to listen. Their shoulders brushed and they almost missed hearing Yugi's reply.

"I just wanted to let you know there's been a change in plans. We're still meeting here this morning to open our presents, but since none of us had anything special on tonight, Seto's invited everyone over to his place for a proper Christmas party." There was a soft giggle, followed by a soft "Stop that, Yami! I'm trying to talk to Ryou!" There was another giggle before Yugi returned his attention to the phone conversation. "Sorry Ryou, Yami keeps pulling faces. He's been doing it ever since Seto called. So, can you come tonight? I know I could have waited until later to ask, but I thought you might need a bit more warning." 

Ryou was stunned. He'd been sure that Yugi had been calling because he and Yami were able to touch too. Apparently whatever had happened was only affecting Bakura! It took him a moment to gather his thoughts. "Oh. Um… I'm not sure, Yugi. Father's here. He came home unexpectedly yesterday and I…" He hesitated, not sure what to say. 

"Oh!" Understanding filled Yugi's voice and Ryou was suddenly very glad that he'd once admitted to the younger boy what his father was like. "Well, see if you can come tonight and let us know when you get here. I hope you can."

"Ryou! Breakfast!" Father's voice came up the stairs and Ryou sighed softly. 

"I'll ask. Sorry Yugi, I have to go. Father's calling me. Um… he's said that…" Bakura interrupted before Ryou said anything about him not being allowed to go out that morning.

"Not a word." Bakura ignored the wary look his light gave him. "Hang up the phone, Ryou." 

"Bakura!"

Yugi laughed, knowing only too well how yamis liked interrupting their lights when they were on the phone. "Okay Ryou, I'll talk to you when you come over. Around ten, okay? I'll see you then! Bye!" 

"Goodbye Yugi." Ryou hung up the phone. He stood there for a moment, lost in thought. "Maybe Yami just hasn't noticed it yet…"

Bakura shook his head. "I doubt it. Maybe Dark Witch did it…"

Ryou blinked and considered that for a moment. "As a surprise for us?"

"Why not? I can tell that I'm still a spirit, and I still have access to the Shadow Magic. I can feel it. Father couldn't see me, either, so it looks like it's limited to our being able to touch."

"It does sound like something Dark Witch would do," Ryou admitted. The more he thought about it, the more he thought Bakura was right. "Perhaps we should go there later and make sure?"

"Fine by me. As long as we don't go through the Forest. I've had enough of that place for a while."

Ryou nodded and sighed softly as he mentally rearranged his to do list to include a visit to the Shadow Realm. It was obviously going to be a busy day. First off, breakfast with Father. Second, unwrapping presents with Father. Third… He frowned slightly and turned his head to look at Bakura. 

"You never did say what you were going to do about Father." 

Bakura smirked at his light. "Yes. I know." His smirk grew at Ryou's soft sigh. "Don't worry, Ryou. You'll find out soon enough." Ryou sighed again.

"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of. Oh well, we'd better go downstairs. Father is waiting." 

Ryou started to turn and was surprised to find that he couldn't move. Although a part of him had been aware of every move Bakura had made during the phone call, he'd been distracted enough by the conversation that he hadn't realised before how effectively his yami had cornered him. 

Bakura was in the same position as when they had first realised they could touch, pressed against Ryou's back with both his arms around his light's waist. The yami had moved his head though, leaning forward so his head was against Ryou's, making it easy for them both to hear the phone conversation. Although the call was over, Bakura hadn't moved away. 

"Um… Bakura? We need to go…"

"In a minute…" Bakura didn't know what Horned Imp had made him move so close to Ryou in the first place; it hadn't really been a conscious decision. It had just sort of… happened. He couldn't make himself regret it though. As much as he hated to admit it, he rather liked having his light in his arms. And since he had him there… 

Bakura turned his head so he could whisper in his light's ear. His hold tightened from simple holding to something dangerously close to a hug as he whispered, "Merry Christmas, Ryou." Then he eased back. For a moment he just looked at his startled light and then he smirked. "Come on. We mustn't keep Father waiting." Turning, he strode away.

After a moment of shock when all Ryou could do was blink and wonder if he'd dreamed that Bakura had just hugged him, Ryou shook himself out of his daze and hurried after his yami. He caught up to him at the stop of the stairs and immediately noticed the thoughtful way Bakura was eyeing the staircase. "What's wrong?"

"Remember the day before yesterday when I startled you while you were going up these stairs?"

Ryou froze as he remembered. "I didn't dream it did I? You really did put your hand out to me when it looked like I was losing my balance. I thought I felt something, but I put it down to my imagination working overtime."

Bakura slowly shook his head. "No, if you were imagining it, then so was I. My hand did go through you, but there was a moment… that first moment of contact…"

Light and yami traded a glance. Whatever had happened to make them touchable, it had apparently started before that morning. Which made it less likely to be a gift from Dark Witch. 

"Bakura, whatever you're planning to do to Father, I won't object. We definitely need to be able to leave the house today," Ryou said quietly and Bakura nodded in grim agreement, all trace of his earlier good humour now gone.

* * *

Ryou put his presents from Father on his bed as Bakura eyed them in disgust. "Three pastel sweaters. Wow. What a gift. Isn't that what he got you for your birthday?" 

His light chuckled. "No. For my birthday he gave me two sweaters and that long sleeved white shirt with the black buttons, you know, the one that you hate." He started moving the gifts for their friends from his wardrobe to his desk, in preparation for their trip to Yugi's.

"No wonder I hate it. Thank Ra bad taste isn't hereditary! Not that your taste is all that good, but it certainly beats Father's." Bakura grabbed one of the sweaters, held it up and grimaced. "He got the wrong size again."

Ryou sighed but couldn't look up since he was struggling to pull Kaiba's present out of his wardrobe. "Too large or too small?" 

"Too large." 

"That's all right then. They'll shrink when I wash them." He finally managed to get the present out and onto his desk with the others. "There, that's everything." 

Ryou turned to his yami. "I'm ready and it's almost twenty to ten. If we're going to make it to Yugi's on time…" He was nervous, but determined. 

Bakura nodded and dropped the sweater in a heap. "Bakura!" He smirked at his light's protest. Leaving Ryou to refold the sweater, Bakura strode out of the room in search for Father. 

Ryou watched him leave, biting his lip nervously. "Oh dear… I hope he knows what he's doing…" He looked down at the sweater in his hands and suddenly blinked. "Wait a minute… how did he manage to touch this?"

He was still pondering that question a few moments later when Bakura's voice suddenly came from Father's room. When Ryou realised what his yami was doing, he almost dropped the sweater in shock. Suddenly, he understood Bakura's plan. Ryou smiled in relief. When his yami entered the room a little while later with a pretty young Shadow Monster in tow, Ryou was waiting for them. 

"Change of Heart!"

"Ryou!" 

Ryou held out his arms and the winged girl giggled and ran to him for a hug. He smiled as he looked down at her. "I take it that you've cast your spell on Father to change his point of view?" 

"Yes. He'll let you and Bakura do whatever you want to do for the rest of the day. He'll be helpful and nice and he won't yell at you or be mean to you in any way." Change of Heart smiled up at Ryou. Of all the Duelists who called her into battle, he was by far her favourite and she was happy that she'd been able to help him. 

"Oh thank you! That's wonderful news!" He hugged her again, and smiled at Bakura over her head. Bakura smirked back and looked extremely smug. 

"I told you it was a good plan." For once, Ryou agreed with him.

To be continued…


	18. Christmas at Yugi's

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 18: Christmas at Yugi's  
By Shadow's Mirror

The moment Ryou arrived at Yugi's, chaos descended around him. There seemed to be an awful lot of people stuffed into the small living room, and they all seemed to be greeting him at once. Ryou found himself slapped on the back by Joey, almost knocked over by the small cyclone that was Mokuba, hugged by Serenity, and kissed by Téa, all within half a minute. He was more than a little dazed by all the attention, so Tristan's headlock caught him by surprise. 

Ryou thought it was very restrained of him just to yelp once. His yami didn't agree, judging by the disgusted look on his face as he appeared in his spirit form. Tristan gasped and immediately let Ryou go. Naturally, the sudden release caused Ryou to lose his balance but fortunately Duke had been standing nearby and managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Bakura's glare immediately shifted to Duke, particularly his hands for some reason. 

Ryou frowned back at Bakura. Duke was just helping him, that was all. Okay, so his hands were lingering on Ryou's waist a little longer than polite society dictated... All right, a lot longer… and they weren't completely still… "Oh my…" he muttered faintly. 

Ryou glanced up at his smirking friend. "Duke… if you want to annoy Bakura, and to be honest I don't see why anyone would want to, there are easier ways." Duke chuckled and Ryou could have sworn he darted a glance at Bakura, although that was impossible since the yamis were invisible to everyone except their lights. 

He'd just managed to wriggle out of Duke's grasp when Ryou suddenly found himself being hugged very tightly. The hugger was definitely female, but more than that Ryou couldn't tell since he was being held too closely to see. In fact, his face was being pressed into someone's chest so hard that he was having considerable trouble breathing. 

"Hey Mai, I think you're smothering him…" Joey helpfully pointed out the obvious.

"Oh… Oops… Sorry about that, sweetie." Mai pulled back enough for Ryou to breathe. He smiled weakly up at her.

"Hey Mai. Merry Christmas." She grinned and winked at him before kissing him soundly. Ryou was fairly positive that he heard his yami grumbling something about 'obsessive females', but he was rather too preoccupied to pay much attention. 

Somehow or other, a few minutes later Ryou found himself seated on the couch beside Yugi. He blinked at his friend, still rather dazed. "I know it's been a while since I last saw Mai, but still…" Yugi laughed.

"Don't worry, she did that to everyone. You know Mai, she loves keeping people off balance. You should have seen Kaiba's reaction. He nearly climbed up the wall in shock!" He laughed again, but this time there was an echo to his laughter, as Bakura also chuckled. Yugi looked curiously at the spirit. "How are you doing this?"

As Bakura shrugged casually, Ryou blinked, completely stunned. "You… you can see him?"

"Ryou… everyone in this room has been looking at me from the moment I appeared. They can all see me. What did you think Tristan and Duke were reacting to?" Bakura's irritated question caused several snickers to break out, mainly from the area where Tristan, Duke and Joey were sitting. 

"He probably didn't think of it. He was a bit… busy at the time, Bakura." Duke couldn't resist the comment. His green eyes twinkled mischievously as the spirit glared at him. He laughed as Bakura took a step forward. "Relax! I'm just kidding! You know I'd never do anything to Ryou. As cute as he is, he's just not my type." He winked at Ryou, who silently wished he didn't blush quite so easily as he felt his cheeks heat up. 

"Yeah, just look out the front door of the shop if you don't believe him," Tristan added with a grin. Duke winced and shot him a dirty look, then scowled as there were quite a few chuckles from around the room, and outright laughter from Tristan and Joey.

"The front door?" Bakura raised an eyebrow curiously. Ryou had used the kitchen entrance, so they hadn't seen the front of the shop that morning. 

"Yeah. Apparently Duke's fangirls don't have anything better to do for Christmas than follow him around." Joey winked and easily fended off Duke's half-hearted kick.

"Not true, Joey! I heard several of them say that following their 'Dukie' was their idea of the perfect Christmas. I think I heard a reference to him being the 'perfect gift' too… although it was hard to hear over all the sighing. It was right after one of them said something about wanting to find Duke under the Christmas tree…" Tristan grinned and waited. He didn't have to wait long. Joey caught his cue immediately. 

"What's that got to do with all those girls sighing?" Joey ignored Duke's attempt at elbowing him in the ribs. He just couldn't get the right angle to do any serious damage…

"Tied up in red ribbon with a big red bow?" Tristan looked pointedly at Joey, who burst out laughing. 

"Oh man! That's bad! Those girls really need to find hobbies or something!" 

"I think Duke Devlin **is** their hobby!" That comment caused another round of smiles, smirks, chuckles and snickers to circle the room. 

Duke sighed and glared at Joey and Tristan, pointedly ignoring everyone else. "Hey, at least I **have** fans!" Somehow though, the insult didn't seem nearly as insulting as it usually did…

* * *

While the three were joking around, Bakura had lost interest in the conversation. Fangirls left him cold after a certain experience he'd had with a group of them not too long before. He returned his attention to his light, who was still looking extremely dazed. Bakura silently perched himself on the arm of the couch and immediately noticed the warmth of his light's shoulder where it touched his hip. He wasn't used to feeling warmth. It reminded him of what had happened that morning and that in turn made him realise that someone was missing. 

Bakura looked around, frowning slightly. "Malik and Marik not here yet?" He abruptly asked Yugi. 

"They shouldn't be much longer. Isis said she'd bring them over at ten, and it's just gone that now. She can usually get them moving enough so they're not too late."

Bakura was about to reply when there was a sudden outburst of noise. It sounded suspiciously like a mischievous light making his way through a large group of fangirls, most of whom usually wore very short skirts. He smirked and looked over at Duke. "Hey Devlin! I'll say one thing for those fangirls of yours, they make a great alarm system!" 

Duke was still scowling at him when Isis walked into the room, carrying two large Christmas bags and with Malik following close behind her and looking rather pleased with himself. As Joey took charge of the gifts, everyone else greeted Isis and Malik enthusiastically. 

Yugi moved over on the couch and Isis smiled at him thankfully as she dropped down between him and Ryou. "Oh, what a morning! I'm sorry we're so late, Yugi. We had a few… difficulties…" 

She sighed softly and looked over at her brother. Malik had Duke in a headlock. He also had very wild hair, was several inches taller than usual and had a cape fluttering around his shoulders. Apparently Marik had decided to pop out of his soulroom for a little while. "Not too tightly, Marik! Remember, mortals need to breathe." Marik nodded and loosened his hold around Duke's neck. Duke sent Isis a grateful look as he gasped in air. 

Isis looked around the room, her gaze skimming past Bakura and Ryou and moving onto Téa, Seto and Mokuba before she froze. She slowly looked back at Bakura and blinked at him. Bakura smirked and gave her a cheerful little wave. "Hey." Isis blinked again.

"What in the Shadows…?" she murmured softly. Bakura smirked again.

"We're not sure how or why, but Bakura seems to be a little more… tangible today." Ryou shrugged helplessly, suddenly aware that all the conversations had ceased and everyone was looking at him. He swallowed nervously and looked down at his hands resting quietly in his lap. "He went to merge with me earlier and… touched me instead. We thought that was all it was, since Father can't see him. But everyone here can and I… I don't know what to think anymore." 

Bakura could see his light becoming more stressed by the moment. He lightly rested his hand on the boy's shoulder. To everyone watching, it looked like he was comforting his light. Only Ryou sensed the warning intended. Bakura didn't want him to say too much. "We figured it was something to do with the Millennium Items. But if I'm the only one affected, then it looks like it might be just the Ring. Maybe it's a new power or something." Bakura said it with deliberate casualty, knowing how much it would irritate Yami and Marik. Sure enough, Marik's eyes narrowed. 

"Well I've never heard of the Ring being able to do anything like that!" He glared at Bakura.

Yugi closed his eyes for a moment while he checked with Yami. Opening them again, he shook his head. "Neither has Yami, but he says that we don't know all that much about the Ring, so it could be possible. He also suggests that it could be something to do with…" Yugi hesitated, glancing at Seto as though worried about how the dark haired boy would take what he was about to say"… the trouble in the Shadow Realm."

At everyone's puzzled looks, Yugi explained. "Yami and I went to visit the Dark Magician a few days ago. It took us ages to get to his tower, because we had to duel against all these monsters. I've never seen it like that before. It's usually really quiet whenever we go there. Anyway, when we got to the tower, the Dark Magician was… distracted. He seemed worried too, and nervous. Not at all like his usual self. When we left, he opened the portal so we could leave from there, because he said it wasn't safe in the Shadow Realm. Yami asked him what was wrong and he said something about… dark powers stirring and shadows awakening… or something like that." 

Bakura frowned. "I went to the Shadow Realm last night. I couldn't use the Ring there. It wasn't working. The Ancient Tree of Enlightenment said it was because of a spell, but after what you just said… I'm wondering if he told me the truth."

"The Ancient Tree of Enlightenment can usually be trusted." Isis's quiet remark caused all eyes to turn to her and she looked back at the waiting group with her usual calmness. "It is a card I have carried for some time now and I have never known him to lead me astray."

"Huh? How come I didn't know you had it?" Marik had apparently become bored with all the conversation and returned to his soulroom, since it was Malik now frowning at his sister. 

"You do not know all of my cards, Malik." She smiled at her brother before turning back to Bakura. She looked thoughtful. "Was your experience in the Shadow Realm anything like Yugi and Yami's?" 

"You mean with the attacks? Yeah. A Man Eater Bug decided it wanted to become a Bakura Eating Bug. The tree hit it with a vine and it ran off. I had a quick conversation and returned home from there, so I didn't meet up with anything else. Now that you mention it though…" Bakura frowned slightly, "I was kinda busy being chased by that cursed bug but there was something… off… about the forest. It seemed… I don't know… noisier than usual, I guess. Like I said, I wasn't really paying much attention." 

Yugi was nodding. "Yes! That's what Yami and I thought too! It was like all the Shadow Monsters were restless or something." He paused and his eyes got the familiarly distant 'do not disturb - conversation with my yami in progress' look to them. When he snapped out of his daze a few moments later, he blushed when he noticed that everyone was waiting for him. 

"Sorry about that. Yami just thought of something. The last time we visited the Dark Magician, he said that Dark Witch had been practicing her magic a fair bit. He thought that she was planning something and he hoped that it didn't have anything to do with him. He was awfully distracted, so we couldn't get anything more definite from him. Bakura, do you suppose what's happened to you could have been what Dark Witch was planning?" 

Ryou smiled as all his tension eased and Bakura was surprised to find that he was also relieved to hear that. "Yeah. That was the first explanation we thought of," he agreed. If Dark Witch had been practicing the spell… suddenly the incident on the stairs made a lot more sense.

"But… why didn't she do it to Marik and me too? She was our Monster first!" Everyone warily edged away from Malik as he pouted, dangerously close to tears. Dangerous because Marik didn't like it when his light was upset and the more-than-slightly-off-balance yami had a tendency to take out his anger on anyone in the vicinity!

"Perhaps she knows that you and Marik don't need a spell for that," Isis dropped the bombshell with the same calm manner that she would have used to offer someone a cup of tea. As everyone stared at her in shock, she smiled slightly and shrugged. "It's limited to brief periods, but Marik can make himself able to be seen and touched, just as Bakura is now. I believe it to be some sort of residual effect from the spell Malik used when Marik was… lost in the Shadow Realm."

Ryou, Bakura and Yugi nodded, remembering how Isis had called them when her brother, while trying to rescue Marik from his imprisonment in the Shadow Realm, had accidentally trapped himself there instead. His spell had also left his very distraught and frightened yami in physical form in the real world. Yami and Bakura had rescued Malik, and Marik's physical form had faded a few days later, returning him to his usual spirit form. Apparently though there had been a side effect that no one except Malik, Marik and Isis had known about, until now.

Malik thought about what his sister had said for a moment before he slowly nodded. "I guess that's okay then," he finally agreed, all traces of his distress now gone. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the danger had been averted. Although his time as a mortal, and the time he had spent in exile in the Shadow Realm, had made Marik less vengeful, he could still be dangerous when he or Malik was upset or angry. Life around them was certainly never boring!

Bakura thought for a moment. He would never admit it, but Malik had asked the same thing he'd been wondering. It had been the only thing troubling him about the idea of Dark Witch casting the spell as a gift to him and Ryou, aside from that incident on the stairs. Isis's explanation made sense though. He remembered something Dark Witch had said to him the time he'd gone to the Shadow Realm to get Ryou a kitten. Something about some spells having very interesting residual effects. He hadn't understood her smirk at the time, but he thought he did now. He nodded to himself. 

"I'd say we have our answer. Dark Witch must have done this. It's something she'd do, and it's the only explanation I can think of that makes any sense." The others nodded in agreement. Most of them had met the mischievous Shadow Monster at some point so they all knew what she was like.

Joey looked around at the group. "So… if Dark Witch is behind this, there's no problem, right? So can we get on with the presents now or what?" After a moment of stunned silence, everyone burst out laughing. The blonde boy blinked. "What? What's so funny? Hey! Someone wanna let me in on the joke?" 

Mai leaned over and tousled his hair. She grinned at him and winked. "I'll explain it to you later Joey. Right now, I couldn't agree with you more. Enough talk already. Let's bring on the gifts!" 

* * *

Although it took a little while for the serious mood to lift completely, Joey's enthusiasm was infectious and the entire group was soon laughing and joking as though they were just an ordinary group of friends celebrating Christmas together. As they swapped gifts, they munched the cookies that Ryou had made the day before and laughed over Bakura's story about how Nemuriko and his Sleep Fiend had helped with them. Even Ryou was laughing by that time, although there was still a faint feeling of uneasiness within him from not knowing for certain whether or not Bakura's new abilities were really a gift from Dark Witch. 

It wasn't until Duke began handing out his gifts, and Bakura started smirking, that Ryou remembered about the dog collar. Before he could warn Yugi though, Duke handed Joey his gift. The blonde boy immediately tore into it. Bakura leaned forward in anticipation. 

"All right! Man, Duke! Thanks! This is awesome!" As Joey pulled a special edition Dungeon Dice Monsters set out of the remains of the wrapping paper, Bakura looked extremely disappointed. Ryou had to force himself not to laugh as his yami began to grumble in his mind.

*Curse it to the Shadows! I can't believe Devlin chickened out! I should have known it was too good to be true.*

Bakura gave Devlin his best angry-yami glare, but it didn't have a lot of effect. Devlin just blinked and then smirked at the furious spirit. Bakura's mental grumbling began to escalate into a full-scale rant. 

Kaiba was the next, and last, to hand out his gifts and Ryou was very pleased with the new model Duel Disk system that Kaiba had given each of them. Not only was it a lot better than the previous model, but it managed to distract Bakura from his rant. "Oh thank you, Seto!" Ryou's happiness was short-lived though. 

"Hey! What's this? There's a present left! Hey Joey! It's got your name on it!" Duke grinned as he held up a long flat present. Ryou's heart fell. 

"Really? All right! Toss it over!" 

As Joey ripped into the wrapping paper, Bakura glanced over at Duke. When the boy winked at him, Bakura barely managed to keep from laughing out loud. His dark eyes gleamed as he watched Joey unwrap a dark blue, leather dog collar. 

"What? Hey!" Joey glared around the group, his attention focusing on Kaiba, Devlin and Tristan, in that order. "All right! Which of you jokers did this? I am not a dog!" As everyone burst out laughing, he growled deep in his throat. Of course, that just made everyone laugh even more. Even Yugi, Ryou, Isis and Téa, the four most considerate members of the group, had to chuckle as Joey held up the collar.

Kaiba's bright blue eyes were fairly dancing with amusement. "Why don't you try it on, Joey? It looks like it's just your size!" He jerked back instinctively as Joey lunged for him. Luckily, Tristan, Malik and Duke managed to catch hold of him before he did any damage. 

Joey snarled at Kaiba. "Blast you! I am **not** a dog!" His flashing eyes locked with Kaiba's and the billionaire suddenly stilled, his smile fading as he seemed to see something there that took all the humour out of the situation. 

"I didn't do it." 

The words were spoken so softly they were barely audible over Joey's growls and the grunts and muttered curses of the three boys trying to hold onto him, but there was no mistaking the sincerity behind them. Joey suddenly stopped struggling, causing Tristan, Duke and Malik to end up in a tangled heap beside him. He ignored them and kept staring into Kaiba's eyes, as though trying to see the truth within the bright blue orbs. Finally, he nodded. 

"All right. I believe you. So…" He glared down at Tristan and Duke. "Which of you two was it? Tell me now and I might, just might, not thump you!" 

Duke grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Joey. I only meant it as a joke. I didn't think you'd take it so serious…mmmphhhh!!!!" 

Joey grinned as he looked around the group and then back down at Duke. "Hey, I can take a joke as well as the next guy. As long as I get my revenge afterwards. Okay, Duke?" He laughed at the youth struggling in his headlock. 

Duke gave in and went limp, knowing that he deserved whatever Joey wanted to dish out. Amid chuckles and cheers, Joey quickly whipped Duke's headband off, pulled his ponytail free and proceeded to tousle, ruffle and generally mess up the boy's hair as much as he could. By the time he finally let Duke up, the boy's long black locks bore a striking resemblance to a hedgehog. 

Joey looked around the group, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Anyone else wanna make any comments about the collar?" 

As everyone else immediately shook their heads, Ryou froze. He suddenly knew what was about to happen. He hadn't become psychic or anything, it was just that he knew his yami so well. Sure enough, Bakura's husky voice spoke up. "I think the tag's a nice touch. It's got your name on it and everything." Ryou closed his eyes and wondered what the chances were that the ground would choose that moment to swallow him up.

"Tag?" At Joey's surprised question, Ryou dared to open his eyes again. Much to his surprise, Joey was looking at the tag in question and grinning. "Well how about that. I didn't even notice it. Thanks Bakura! I owe you one! Come here, Duke! I owe you one too!" 

As Joey grabbed Duke in another headlock, the room erupted into laughter and Ryou breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes, his yami had the most incredible luck imaginable. 

*What can I say? It's a talent!* The smug voice echoed in Ryou's mind, startling him until he realised that Bakura must have overheard his thought. The boy looked up and found his yami grinning down at him. Ryou couldn't help smiling back. 

* * *

Far too soon, in everyone's opinion, it was time for Ryou and Bakura to leave. If they stayed any longer, there was a good chance that they wouldn't make it home before Change of Heart's power wore off Father, and if that happened then Ryou was almost certain to get into trouble. 

As Ryou said his good-byes, Bakura had a quiet word with Mokuba. By the time he returned to his light's side, he had the information he needed for that night's adventure. He had also promised Mokuba that he and Ryou would be attending the Christmas party at Kaiba's mansion. Even if he had to stuff Father's soul into a Christmas stocking to get him out of the way for long enough!

To be continued…


	19. A Quiet Afternoon

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: 'Text' indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami. **Bold** text indicates emphasis.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 19: A Quiet Afternoon  
By Shadow's Mirror

Bakura and Ryou soon realised that they'd left Yugi's just in time. Father had come to collect them and they weren't quite home when he blinked and frowned. "What in the world? Where…? Why…?" Very confused, he looked at his son. "Ryou! I thought I said that you weren't to go out anywhere today!"

'Oh Ra! Ryou! Switch with me! Now!' Ryou obeyed without hesitation. Bakura looked up at Father and pretended to be surprised. "But Father, you drove me there! I went to Yugi's so my friends and I could all swap our Christmas presents. Don't you remember?" he ended as innocently as he could. He snickered through his mind-link to Ryou at the shocked look on Father's face.

"Oh… I… er… that is… Well you're not going anywhere else today!"

Bakura acted upset. "But when I asked you if I could go to Seto Kaiba's party tonight, you said I could!" It was true. He'd had Ryou ask just as they were getting in the car. With Change of Heart's power still in affect, naturally the man had agreed immediately.

Father frowned. His memory of the past few hours was a bit blurry in places, but he did remember driving Ryou to Yugi's and he remembered saying that he could go to Kaiba's tonight as well. What he couldn't remember was why he'd agreed! Unsettled by his apparent loss of memory, he decided to bluff his way out of the argument. "Well, I've given it some more thought and I've changed my mind. I want us to spend the rest of the day together, as a family should! No, no more arguments Ryou! That's my final decision."

"Yes, Father," Bakura replied with mock meekness as his dark eyes flashed with his fury. 'Until I have Change of Heart work her magic on you again. Or maybe Nemuriko would be better for this. Yes, then we could say that you fell asleep in front of the TV and you'd never even know that Ryou and I went out! Kaiba's picking us up after all, so it's not like we need a ride or anything. Perfect.'

As soon as they arrived home, Bakura took great pleasure in pulling all of his and Ryou's Christmas presents out of the trunk while Father looked on in astonishment. The spirit's delight faded though as Father began to drone on about how Ryou's friends shouldn't have gone to so much trouble and how Ryou should make sure that they knew how grateful he was. Father kept talking the entire time as he unlocked the door and went inside. Without a word, Bakura stalked past him and up to his room. He was very careful to keep his light's soulroom shielded so that none of Father's nasty insinuations or comments reached the sensitive boy. He could take whatever Father dished out, but he knew how much it would upset Ryou if he heard it.

By the time he reached Ryou's bedroom, Bakura was in a foul mood. It was only the fact that it would get Ryou into trouble that prevented him from slamming the door open. He stalked into the room, put the load of presents on his desk, and was in the process of closing the door behind him when the presence of someone else in the room with him finally registered. He whirled around.

"Well, are you going to stand there gaping all day or are you going to close that door and come say hello?" Dark Witch grinned at him from her seat on the bed. Bakura grinned back as his fury evaporated. Pushing the door closed, he separated from Ryou. Since their friends had been able to see him, he had no doubt that Dark Witch could to. When she showed absolutely no surprise at it, he knew that their guess had been right.

"I take it that we have you to thank for this?" He gestured at himself and Dark Witch laughed.

"Of course! I just couldn't resist! I've wanted to try that spell for simply ages!" Her purple-blue eyes gleamed as she smiled at the two boys standing in front of her. "It will last for about a week, by the way."

Ryou laughed and hurried over to her for a hug. "Thank you, Dark Witch! It's a great gift! But why didn't you…" He paused, unsure how to phrase his question.

"Malik wasn't happy that you'd left him out of it. Yami will probably be asking the Dark Magician how to do it at some point too." Bakura, as always, had no hesitation in coming to the point. He sauntered over to her but was careful to remain out of reach so she couldn't hug him.

Dark Witch grinned. "I know. I was watching the whole thing through the Fiends Mirror. Isis was absolutely right. I did know about Marik's little trick. He used it once while Malik was dueling and I was on the field. Startled me so much I almost missed my cue to attack! As for Yami…" Dark Witch's grin became a smirk and she winked at Bakura. "Can you imagine how embarrassed the Dark Magician will be when he has to admit that he's always known about the spell, he's just never thought to teach it to Yami or Yugi? I'm going to be able to torment him about this for weeks!"

As Bakura laughed, she took the opportunity to stand and hug him before he could stop her. Putting an arm around each of the boy's shoulders, Dark Witch hugged them both to her. "Anyway, I just came to wish you a Merry Christmas, and to ease any doubts you might have had about the spell. I'm sorry that I worried you. I meant to pop in early this morning to tell you about it, but we had a little trouble in the Castle and I couldn't get away."

"Nothing serious I hope?" Ryou asked tentatively. Dark Witch shook her head and grinned wryly.

"No, but it was time-consuming. D Human decided to try his hand at making a Christmas Pudding. Unfortunately, he thought it would be a good opportunity for him to try a little magic too. Honestly, you'd think he'd know better by now." Dark Witch sighed. "There are some things you should never do with magic and making a Christmas Pudding is most definitely one of them! We ended up with pudding mix everywhere… and I do mean **everywhere**! Dark Elf was not at all impressed when she found it oozing out of her hat. Fortunately Mystical Elf was down in the dungeons visiting with the cats and kittens at the time and she was able to shield them. It took us hours to clean up the place, but at least we didn't have to bath all of them as well. It's a shame cats and kittens don't like pudding though, we could have used the help with the clean-up. That's the problem with magical pudding mix, you can't use magic to get rid of it!"

Dark Witch scowled at Bakura as he snickered. "It's not funny. You try living in a place that smells of hot plums, pudding and custard and see how you like it. I don't even like plums!" Bakura laughed louder and Dark Witch sniffed and turned her attention to Ryou. "Oh no, not you too!"

Ryou tried very hard to stop smiling, but it was especially difficult when his yami was making no effort at all to hide his amusement. "I'm sorry, Dark Witch. It's just that… a pudding spell going awry is rather… unexpected."

Dark Witch's lips twitched. "D Human said much the same thing when it happened. You should have seen him, standing in the middle of the kitchen with a stunned look on his face, holding an empty bowl and covered from horn to toe in pudding mix!" She made a sound suspiciously like a barely suppressed chuckle.

"All right, as much as I hate to leave so soon, I had better be getting back. I just ducked away for a few minutes while everyone was busy trying to keep Nemuriko awake long enough to wash the pudding mix off his tail. I'm sure they've succeeded by now since the only thing he likes more than sleep is water." Dark Witch grinned and gave Ryou and Bakura one last hug before moving away.

"Merry Christmas, boys! Use your gift wisely and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Grinning mischievously, Dark Witch winked one gleaming eye at Bakura as she spoke. Raising her hand, she created a dark shadow portal and a moment later she was gone.

Ryou grinned. "Well, at least now we know for sure that she was the one behind your sudden… Bakura, where are you going?" Ryou eyed his yami warily as Bakura started for the door.

"Don't worry, Ryou. I'm just going to make sure that Father doesn't bother us this afternoon. I thought another dose of Change of Heart should take care of him until tonight and then Nemuriko can put him to sleep nice and early so we can go out tonight without him knowing." Bakura grinned as Ryou sighed.

"There's no need for all that, Bakura! Well… not Change of Heart, anyway. I agree with you about Nemuriko. Oh, don't look at me like that. Anyone would think I'd never agreed with you!" Ryou frowned crossly at Bakura, who had staggered to lean against the door in mock faintness.

"No, it's not that. I'm just stunned that you agree to a plan that involves putting Father to sleep. Ryou… I'm so proud of you!" Bakura grinned at his light and then ducked as Ryou threw a pillow at him. "Now Ryou, that wasn't very light-like!" He laughed and ducked another pillow. "Your aim is terrible." He hadn't finished laughing when a pillow hit him right in the stomach. "Oof!" He rubbed the place where he'd been hit in surprise and blinked at Ryou. "It hit me!"

"Oh! Are you all right?" Ryou anxiously hurried to his Yami's side, but Bakura just waved him off.

"Ryou… it was just a pillow. It's not like it was something heavy!" He rolled his eyes as his light blushed.

"I know… I just… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… No, actually I did mean to hit you, I just didn't expect it to, you know, **hit** you." Ryou gave Bakura a sheepish look. Bakura blinked.

"Care to run that by me again? I think I missed something."

"I thought it would go through you," Ryou explained. He paused. "Why didn't it go through you?"

Bakura shrugged. "Probably for the same reason I could handle those sweaters of yours earlier. I still can't touch most things, but Dark Witch's spell seems to include some stuff." Bending down, he scooped up the three pillows and looked at them for a moment. A smirk was all the warning Ryou had before he was suddenly pelted with all three of them!

"Oh! Bakura!" Ryou laughed and picked up one of the pillows. Bakura grabbed it off him before he could throw it, so Ryou picked up another one. Within moments, light and yami were having their first ever pillow fight.

Bakura was so intent on whapping his light with the pillow, listening to his happy laughter and chasing him around the room that he almost failed to hear the warning tread of footsteps coming down the hall. Fortunately, the tombrobber's senses were well trained for that kind of thing and he had just enough time to cry, "Father's coming!" before the door burst open. Unfortunately, Ryou's reflexes weren't quite as good as Bakura's. When Father came in, he caught Ryou apparently waving his pillow around in the air.

"Ryou! What is the meaning of this? I could hear you all the way downstairs! Is this how you carry on when I'm not home? Calling out and running around like some wild, undisciplined animal? You should be ashamed of yourself! What on earth do you think you're doing?" Father glared at Ryou, who was too stunned to do anything more than blink at him. "Well? Answer me, Ryou!"

"Um… I was… having a pillow fight with my… um… shadow." As Father blinked in surprise, Ryou quickly continued. "I'm sorry I disturbed you Father. Since it's Christmas Day, I only wanted to do something… fun." He quickly put the pillow on his bed and smiled innocently up at the very confused man. "I'll do something quiet for the rest of the afternoon. I promise, Father."

"Well… make sure you do! I don't want to hear a sound out of you for the rest of the day. Understood?" Father wagged his finger at his son, his expression somewhere between a frown and complete bewilderment.

"Yes Father." Ryou assumed his most innocent expression. The one that he knew his Father couldn't stand since it made him look all innocent sweetness and light. Sure enough the man winced and abruptly turned towards the door.

"Good." Father was out the door before he'd finished speaking.

Ryou waited until Father's footsteps had started down the stairs before he dropped onto the side of his bed and breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close. I can't believe we forgot that Father was in the house! We'll have to be more careful, Bakura. Bakura? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?" Ryou gave his yami a puzzled look as Bakura kept staring at him. "You look as though you've never seen me before!"

"I'm wondering if I have! Ryou… the way you handled Father just now… I couldn't have done it better myself! Not only did you get him to leave us alone for the rest of the afternoon, but you made him think it was his own idea!" Bakura suddenly grinned. "That's my light!" Ryou blushed, but couldn't keep from smiling. "Just in case Father changes his mind though, and I wouldn't put it past him, we should find something to do that he can't possibly complain about."

Ryou nodded. "Good point. How about the jigsaw puzzle that Yugi gave us this morning?"

Bakura thought about it. "Yeah. Sounds good. Even if I can't touch the pieces, I can still point out where they go, and it's big enough that it will take us a few days to do." As he and Ryou headed for the desk where the presents were, Bakura smirked. "If we take our time with it, this puzzle could last us until Father goes away again."

- - -

Bakura could touch the pieces.

He and Ryou spent a relaxed afternoon lying side by side on the floor as they worked on their first puzzle together. Although Ryou enjoyed puzzles, Bakura usually got frustrated because he couldn't touch the pieces, so they didn't do them all that often. When they did, Bakura usually just watched and occasionally offered advice on the placement of a particular piece. Bakura refused to admit it, but it was much more fun helping Ryou to fit the pieces into place.

As Bakura had thought, Father did come up to the room a few times during the afternoon. Each time he tried to get Ryou to go downstairs and each time he ended up leaving the room alone. By the third time, Ryou had a great deal of difficulty keeping a straight face as he talked Father into letting him stay in his room. The fact that Bakura was rolling around laughing on the floor beside him at the time wasn't exactly helpful either.

Eventually though, it was dinnertime and they had to put the puzzle away and go downstairs. As Ryou carefully rolled up the special puzzle mat and stored it away under his bed for next time, Bakura was surprised to realise how much he had enjoyed himself. He watched his light back out from under the bed and a streak of mischief reared its head within him.

Ryou had just stood up when he found himself being caught from behind by his yami. Blinking over his shoulder, he silently amended that to 'his **smirking** yami'. Ryou sighed. "Bakura… Father doesn't like to be kept waiting. If we're not down there by six o'clock, he won't be happy."

Bakura rested his chin on his light's shoulder and shrugged. "It's only ten to. Plenty of time."

"I have to wash my hands." Ryou looked down at himself and winced. "I should get changed too. Remind me to vacuum the carpet in here tomorrow. You don't realise how dusty a carpet is until you lie on it in white clothes."

"So that's why you wear so much white. Lie on carpets often, do you? How come you've never invited me along to these carpet inspections?" Bakura wrapped his arms more firmly around his light's waist. He chuckled as he felt Ryou's sigh.

"Bakura… why are you doing this? Not that I mind it or anything. It's just that it's not like you to be so…" Ryou paused, unsure of the right word, "…affectionate," he finally decided.

"Affectionate…" Bakura thought about that. Normally he would have been offended, but for some reason, at that precise moment, he couldn't think of any word that suited his emotions better. "I don't know, Ryou. I just want to. I had a lot of fun this afternoon. More than I have in a long time." He moved his head, hesitantly resting his cheek lightly against Ryou's shoulder so his light couldn't see the uncertainty Bakura knew was on his face.

Ryou smiled and moved his arms so they rested on top of Bakura's. He leaned back slightly against his yami. "Me too. It was nice to be able to spend some quiet time together. Just the two of us."

Bakura raised his head and stared at Ryou, stunned at how easily his light had managed to put into words the feelings he had been struggling so hard to put a name to. "Yes." He hesitated, suddenly feeling something that he barely recognised. 'Oh Ra… surely I'm not… shy? Curse it to the Shadows! It's only Ryou! Why would I be shy with my light?' "We're doing this again." It came out gruffly and Bakura winced. "I mean… can we… I'd like it if… Oh Ra! I'm not good at this!"

Ryou turned his head and smiled at his embarrassed yami. "I'd like it very much if we could do this again, too," he confirmed quietly. Then he wiggled a bit and his smile turned mischievous. "But if you don't let go of me right now, Father is going to come up to see what's taking me so long. Considering how he reacted to my having a pillow fight with myself, what do you think his reaction would be if he saw this?"

When Ryou reached the dining room a few minutes later, he could still hear Bakura laughing in his soulroom.

- - -

At six o'clock, Ryou and his father sat down to Christmas dinner. By half past six, Ryou was in the kitchen doing the washing up and Father was sitting in the living room watching TV. As soon as Ryou finished the dishes, he started to go upstairs to his bedroom. "Ryou! Where are you going?" Father's annoyed voice stopped the boy in his tracks.

"Upstairs. I'm still working on my puzzle."

Father frowned. "You've been at it all afternoon! It's Christmas Day and I've barely seen you! No, come in here and watch TV with me."

"Yes Father." Ryou managed to stifle his sigh as he obeyed. As soon as he sat down though, Bakura emerged from his soulroom and went into the hall. A few moments later, Father slumped in his chair, sound asleep. Ryou grinned and stood up again.

In the hallway, Ryou found Bakura holding a small sleepy-eyed child with long bluey-purple hair, pointed ears and a sinuous pinkish-purple tail that looked rather like an eel's. He smiled. His yami was cradling the child with a gentleness he usually took great care not to show. Ryou wondered if Bakura realised it. Probably not. He had a sudden urge to go and get his camera, but he doubted if the spirit or Shadow Monster would show up on film. "Hello Nemuriko. Thank you for your help."

The little Shadow Monster smiled. "Hewwo Wyou. I wike hewping you and Bakuwa."

"Would you and your sleep fiend like another cookie? I still have some left." Ryou lightly brushed the child's hair back off his face. Nemuriko giggled softly and shook his head.

"Mama said we not awwowed cookies before dinner." He blinked slowly at Ryou, as though thinking something over. "Auntie Witch said you and Bakuwa can touch now. Is that twue?"

Ryou could feel the heat climbing into his cheeks and Bakura burst out laughing. "Yes, it's twue… uh… true." Mischief surged within him as he glanced at Bakura, who was still laughing. Reaching out, he curled his hand lightly around the side and back of Bakura's neck, then moved his hand up so it ran through his yami's thick silky hair. "See?"

Ryou smiled smugly as Bakura abruptly stopped laughing and shot a startled look at his light. "Ryou!"

Nemuriko giggled. He'd been watching in fascination and now he snuggled against Bakura to get his attention. When the Yami looked down at him, the little Shadow Monster smiled sleepily. "Nemuwiko glad. Now Bakuwa and Wyou can kiss and make up when they angwy."

A single image burned into Ryou and Bakura's linked minds at the child's innocent comment.

"Oh… my…" Ryou went bright red. Bakura stared at Nemuriko in shock, a faint hint of colour in his cheeks too.

"Kiss and… make up?" he said faintly. "Where in the Shadows did you learn about… that?" Nemuriko smiled sweetly up at him.

"Auntie Witch towd me!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Bakura muttered to Ryou as Nemuriko happily continued talking.

"Auntie Witch said aduwts yeww and thwow things and zap and cuwse when they angwy, and kiss and make up to say theiw sowwy when they not angwy no more. Wike Mama and Daddy, and Auntie Dawk and Fwaming Swordsman, and Auntie Witch and…" Nemuriko paused to take a deep breath, ignoring the fact that Bakura and Ryou were now blinking at him in shock, "D Human and Mama and Daddy and Auntie Dawk and Fwaming Swordsman and Auntie Ewf and Cewtic Guawdian and Auntie Giew and Dawk Magician and Magician of Bwack Chaos and Stewn Mystic and Dawk Sage and Gaia the Dwagon Champion and Gaia the Fiewce Knight and Bwackwands Fiwe Dwagon and Hawpy Wady and her sistews and bwother and pet dwagon and Twent and Happy Wover and Gween Phantom King and Fiwe Sowcewow and evewyone ewse."

Nemuriko paused, took another deep breath and blinked. "Auntie Witch get angwy a wot," he added.

"Yeah… it sounds like it," Bakura agreed faintly. He was still having a hard time getting a certain mental image out of his mind. After hearing the list of Shadow Monsters that 'Auntie Witch', presumably Dark Witch, had needed to 'kiss and make up' with, he was more than a little dazed.

Ryou tried to speak and made an odd squeaking sort of sound that had Bakura blinking at him in surprise. Nemuriko giggled. "Wyou funny!"

Ryou smiled weakly and tried again. "Who is 'Auntie Gee-eh?" He carefully pronounced it the same way that Nemuriko had. The rest of the names he could work out, more or less, but that one had thrown him almost as badly as Nemuriko's image-causing comment.

Nemuriko opened his mouth and suddenly paused, his head tilting as though he was listening to something that only he could hear. He looked suddenly sad. "Nemuwiko have to go now. Mama cawwing." He gave Bakura a goodbye snuggle before floating out of his arms and over to Ryou. As he hugged the boy around the neck, the little Shadow Monster whispered in his ear. "Dawk Magician Giww." Floating away, he closed his eyes. Dark shadows seemed to shimmer around him for a moment and then he was gone. Leaving Ryou and Bakura alone together in a suddenly awkward silence.

Bakura cleared his throat. "Well… um… we should…" He indicated the living room where Father was sound asleep, then upstairs and finally pointed towards the front door. Ryou blinked at him in confusion for a moment before he remembered. His eyes lit up.

"Oh! Seto's Christmas party! Yes! You're right, if we don't hurry we won't be ready when our ride arrives!" He quickly headed for the stairs, trusting that his yami would follow.

Bakura remained still for a moment, scowling as he watched Ryou hurry away. 'Well… he sure got over **that** quick.' The yami stalked after his light, suddenly in a very bad mood for no reason that he cared to acknowledge at that particular moment.

To be continued…


	20. Girl Trouble

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 20: Girl Trouble  
By Shadow's Mirror

Within five minutes of Ryou stepping into the ballroom of Seto Kaiba's mansion, Bakura knew he was not going to enjoy this particular Christmas party. There were too many people there, the music was too loud and too cheerful and Kaiba had obviously hired a decorator who had once been a wedding caterer and was overly fond of lime green (honestly, who had ever heard of having a three tiered, lime green, Christmas cake?). Bakura's dislike of the party had nothing at all to do with the fact that, the minute Ryou entered the room, an all-too-familiar girl with blonde hair, big blue eyes, long eyelashes and pouty lips had claimed his arm and plastered herself to his side. 

Although it had been a few weeks since he had last seen her, Bakura recognised Shiana immediately. The girl had tried to get Ryou's attention during the dance that Bakura had attended as 'Kara'. He had thought her rude and insufferably pushy at the time and so far she hadn't done anything to change his mind about her! 

Stuck in his soulroom, Bakura could do nothing except grit his teeth and try to endure the torture of watching the girl as she shamelessly flirted with his vulnerable and innocent light.

* * *

Half an hour into the party, Bakura decided that he hated Christmas parties and whoever had first thought of them deserved to be exiled to the Shadow Realm for all eternity. There were still far too many people and some idiot had suggested that the music should be changed from dance music to Christmas Carols. If they played We Wish You A Merry Christmas one more time, Bakura was planning to take over Ryou's body and steal the souls of the musicians and whoever had asked for it to be played. As far as he was concerned, it was definitely **not** a Merry Christmas. 

His feelings about the party had nothing to do with the girl who was still clinging to Ryou like a limpet. He had decided to ignore her and her long eyelashes that kept batting at Ryou in a way that Bakura considered extremely irritating and ridiculous. They were obviously fake. Only Ryou had real eyelashes that long. They were also clumped together with some sticky black stuff. It made them all spiky and every time she batted her eyelashes they left a faint smudge around the girl's eyes. She'd been batting her eyelashes so much that Bakura thought she was starting to look rather like a raccoon. He couldn't resist sharing that thought with his light. 

*Bakura! That's not… nice… Oh dear… You're right. It's still not nice to comment on it, though!*

*Heh. Her eyelashes look like they'd be prickly too. I like yours better.*

Ryou's mental voice was amused when he replied. *How would you know whether or not my eyelashes are prickly? I don't remember ever thinking about them one way or the other!*

Bakura remained silent as the memory of a long-ago night filled his mind. Ryou had been sleeping peacefully in his soulroom. Bakura had been bored. He'd watched his light sleeping for a while from the doorway and he'd become… curious about the boy's long eyelashes. Wondering if they were as soft as they looked, he'd lightly brushed over them. *They're soft as silk. Trust me. A yami knows these things about his light.*

Bakura smiled to himself as he sensed his light's surprise through their mind-link. The strains of We Wish You A Merry Christmas suddenly filled the air and his smile vanished into a scowl. *Ryou… if you don't tell Kaiba to do something about that cursed noise, I am going to come out there and stuff all of those cursed musicians souls into their instruments!*

* * *

By the time they'd been at the party for an hour, Bakura had upgraded his feelings about it. He no longer hated Christmas parties. Now he loathed them entirely. The Christmas Carols had been changed back to high-energy dance music. Very loud, high-energy dance music. He was getting a headache and Ryou already had one. Although that might not have been entirely due to the music. Shiana's idea of 'perfume' was strong enough to make a skunk complain. It was also sickly sweet and so cloying that it seemed to hang around in a cloud. Unfortunately, she kept so close to Ryou that he was constantly in that cloud. 

Bakura made a mental note to have Ryou borrow Kaiba's shower and some clean clothes before they left to take care of the Fire Sorcerer business. There was no way he was taking over Ryou's body while it smelled like an explosion in a flower shop! Although… the thought of he and Ryou wearing Kaiba's clothes wasn't really much better. Also, Kaiba didn't use that cursed soap that Ryou liked and Bakura certainly didn't want Ryou smelling like Kaiba! Bakura decided he could put up with the stench for the time it would take to persuade a kid to return his sister's card to her. 

Shiana said something to Ryou, placing her hand on his arm and leaning in close so he could hear her over the music. She pressed her body against his, causing Ryou to tense in shock before he subtly tried to move away. Bakura's mental growl rumbled through his light's mind. The music wasn't **that** loud! When she moved in again and repeated her move, Bakura was sure of it. She was doing it deliberately!

*Let me steal her soul. Just for a little while!* For once, Bakura was willing to plead if he had to.

Ryou sighed mentally. *No, Bakura. We're going to get something to eat now.*

*Good. Make sure she gets a whole plate full.*

Ryou's surprise flooded through their mind-link. *Why Bakura… that's very considerate of you…* 

Bakura frowned slightly. Had that been just a hint of disappointment in Ryou's voice? No, surely not. Still… it wouldn't do for his light to think that he actually liked this little flirt. *Not really. If she's holding a plate, she won't be able to keep grabbing you. If she's eating, she won't be able to talk. Or laugh,* he added as Shiana let loose with her breathless, simpering and ear-splittingly high-pitched giggle. *No, I don't see any down side to her eating. For as long as possible. Send her back for seconds. And thirds.*

The yami's mind suddenly filled with the rich sound of his light's mental laughter. *Bakura! What if she doesn't want seconds or thirds?*

*You're the light. Be persuasive. Charm her into it, if you have to.* Bakura thought for a moment. *But don't charm her too much. You don't want her thinking that you actually **like** her!* He shuddered and then froze as a gut-wrenchingly horrible thought suddenly invaded his mind. *Oh Ra… you don't, do you?* 

A warm feeling surrounded Bakura as he lay on his bed in his soulroom. He knew this feeling, although he hadn't felt it all that often. It was his light's way of reassuring him, and Bakura very rarely needed such reassurance. It calmed him even before Ryou spoke. *No Bakura. I don't like Shiana. I just… don't know how to get her to leave me alone! I've tried everything that I can think of! She just pouts and says that I shouldn't tease her like that. Then she grabs me and starts flirting with me again!*

*How about pushing her away, telling her to leave you alone and then walking away? There's no way she could ignore that!* Even as he said it though, Bakura had his doubts. Judging by the amusement that came through the mind-link, Ryou apparently didn't believe it either. *Well… it's still worth a try,* Bakura grumbled.

*Believe me, Bakura, if I thought that it would work, I'd have tried it already. Oh… she's talking to me and we're at the buffet table. I have to go.*

*Remember, light, lots of food!*

Bakura smiled as he was surrounded by his light's mental laughter again. Maybe there was hope for this Christmas party yet…

* * *

Ryou's breath came in short pants as Shiana somehow managed to do the impossible and move even closer to him. His erratic breathing wasn't solely due to the overwhelming panic that was flooding through his body. Her arms were wrapped so tightly around him that it felt as though she was crushing his ribs! He tried to pull away, but she just pouted and looked up at him, batting her eyelashes. He tried to ignore her raccoon appearance and the overpowering scent that was stinging his eyes and making them water. His hands had been resting lightly on her back, but he suddenly moved them to her shoulders, trying to push her away. "Shiana… please…" Before he could add 'not so close', she smiled and held him even tighter.

"Ooh, yes Ryou! I'd do anything to please you!" Her eyes shone with eagerness, but dulled slightly as he kept trying to push her away. "Ryou! What are you doing? Oh!" Her eyes lit up again and her smile suddenly became a coy smirk that Ryou was starting to fear more than he'd ever feared Bakura. "You want us to stop dancing?"

Ryou breathed a sigh of relief, or as close as he could get since she was still crushing his ribs. "Yes!" He said it a little too enthusiastically than he normally would have. His sensitivity had been all but worn out over the hour and a half since his arrival at Seto's Christmas party.

Shiana lowered her head, looking with mock-shyness at Ryou from underneath her spiky lashes. "Well… all right… I'm not usually that kind of girl, but if I'm going to be your girlfriend now I suppose it's all right if we go somewhere more private and… talk." 

Alarms went off in Ryou's mind. They were accompanied by bells, whistles, sirens, explosions, flashing lights, fireworks and a low growling sound that he was fairly sure was his yami voicing his displeasure at what was happening. Ryou went pale and suddenly felt very faint. It wasn't from Shiana's perfume either. "Um… no Shiana… that's not what I…" He suddenly paused as her words registered completely. "Wait a minute… girlfriend?" He stared down at the girl in his arms, frozen in shock. "Shiana, you are **not** my girlfriend!" He kept his voice down, not out of dislike at making a scene, but because he was so horrified at the thought that he could barely speak. 

Shiana giggled, but there was an odd look in her eyes and the slightest of frowns on her face. "Well, maybe not officially, but I really like you Ryou and I know you really like me too." She giggled again and pressed against him, her frown deepening when she realised how tense he was. "We've had so much fun tonight! I don't see why we can't have fun like this all the time! We don't have to be boyfriend/girlfriend though, if you really don't want to…" 

She pouted and looked sad but Ryou was a light with a yami who was an expert at making other people feel guilty, and she was nowhere near Bakura's league. He shook his head and tried to be as firm as possible as he put his hands on her shoulders and tried to push her away. "I really don't…" Again, she interrupted him before he could finish.

Giggling, Shiana snuggled against him and rested her head on his chest. "Oh, you don't have to say anything now, silly! Let's enjoy tonight and we'll talk about it tomorrow. I'll give you my phone number so you can call me." As she spoke, she moved slightly. Her body pressed against Ryou's as her hands began to slowly rub his back. Ryou was acutely aware of how obvious her actions were to anyone watching, and he knew they were being watched. As guardian to a Millennium Item, that was one instinct that he had developed very quickly. 

Ryou wasn't so naïve that he didn't see the trap. If they didn't talk this out tonight, then he would have to call her. Once he called her, she could easily draw out their contact with each other. On the other hand, if he didn't call her, then she could say that he had never told her that he didn't want her to be his girlfriend! The only way to avoid the trap was to talk to her now! Ryou took a deep breath.

"Shiana. I don't…" The girl moved against him again. Another male might have found her movement enticing, but Ryou just wanted to push her away. 

"Shh Ryou, it's okay. You really don't have to say anything right now. I know how shy you are. I promise I won't push you to say how you really feel about me. A girl knows these things and I know you really like me. Just like I really like you. You're so nice, I know you'd never, ever, hurt my feelings or be mean to me."

Ryou closed his eyes and gave in to the inevitable. 

Ever since the music had changed to slow tunes and Shiana had pulled him onto the dance floor and pushed herself against him, Ryou had been constantly aware of his darker-half's disgust and anger. Bakura had been careful to shield him from the worst of it, but his feelings were so strong that even if he'd closed the link completely, Ryou would still have known what his yami was feeling. By now, Bakura had worked himself up into a blazing rage that threatened the existence of the entire world if he should unleash it completely. For him to take over Ryou's body while he was in such a temper was practically an invitation for disaster, chaos and possible world destruction. 

*Bakura. Please don't kill her. That's all I ask.*

His light's voice was soft with exhaustion, but Bakura heard every word as clearly as if their link had been completely open and he had been sitting silently instead of loudly ranting. Ryou's request was unexpected, and the clearest indication of how cornered he felt. Normally, Bakura would have been insulted and furious that Ryou had waited so long and only called on him for help as a last resort, but this time it was another thought that ran through Bakura's mind. A thought that eased his anger as nothing else could have. 

Despite knowing how angry he was, and how dangerous he could be at such a time, Ryou trusted him enough to willingly give him control. 

*I wouldn't do that, light. It's not my way. There are far too many witnesses.* As Bakura left his soulroom, he sensed his light's tension easing.

One moment, Shiana was snuggling into Ryou and enjoying herself immensely. The next moment, someone had grabbed her lower arms firmly and was prying her away! Startled, Shiana opened her eyes. She was shocked to realise that the hands were Ryou's! He'd been so tentative earlier. Even when pushing on her shoulders, he'd been gentle. But now… Shiana winced as he pulled her arms from around him. "Ryou! What are you doing? Stop it! You're hurting me!" 

"It seems to be the only way you'll listen to me." Ryou's voice was a low snarl that made Shiana instinctively shiver. She stared up into his eyes and was shocked at how cold and dark they were. She had never seen Ryou look like this before. Shiana had the sudden feeling that she had made a big mistake by pushing him so hard.

"Um… Ryou…" She tried the breathless, conciliatory tone that never failed to work.

"No! You've said more than enough already. Now it's my turn." Before Shiana could do more than blink in shock, Ryou pushed her away so they were no longer touching, except for his hands holding on to her arms. He leaned down slightly and she suddenly found herself unable to look away from his icy gaze. 

"I do not like you and I certainly do not want you as my girlfriend! I have an intense dislike of pushy girls like you who try to force their way into my life. I especially dislike it when they refuse to leave me alone, despite my letting them know, repeatedly, that their attention is unwelcome!"

Shiana started to speak, but froze at the fury that suddenly blazed in Ryou's eyes. "I have tried to be nice. I have tried to deal with you as gently as I could. But I do have my limit and you have just crossed it. For the last time, I want you to leave me alone and never bother me again!" 

Ryou released his hold on her arms, not bothering to conceal the fact that he couldn't bear to touch her any longer. He straightened and then simply turned and strode away, off the dance floor and over to where his friends were sitting. 

Joey indicated the seat between him and Yugi. As soon as he sat down, Joey nudged him. "Well it's about time! We were starting to think you were just gonna let Ryou suffer for the rest of the…" Joey trailed off at the look Bakura gave him. "Ryou wanted to handle it himself, huh?" he said quietly. 

Bakura blinked at the blonde boy. Every now and then, Joey managed to surprise him. "Yeah. Cursed girl. He did everything short of being rude to her. She just wouldn't get the message." He shook his head and sighed. "You know, I didn't think she'd listen to me either for a moment there." 

Téa leaned over Yugi, who was sitting on Bakura's other side. She lightly patted Bakura's knee. "You did the right thing, and so did Ryou. Shiana's always been like that. Once she gets a guy in her sights, nothing will stop her. One guy ended up moving to another city just to get away from her! She can be a bad enemy to have though. She's popular so a lot of the students look up to her. I know it's hard to believe, but you and Ryou handled the situation perfectly. Everyone here saw the way she was acting with Ryou, and we all saw how hesitant he was in response. What happened on the dance floor was disgraceful, but trust me Bakura, Ryou won't be blamed for any of it!"

Joey nodded and smirked. "Yeah, Téa's right. Even though we couldn't hear anything, Shiana was obviously the one making all the moves. When Ryou started trying to push her away, he got this scared look on his face. I'm telling you Bakura, there wasn't a girl in the room that didn't glare at Shiana when that happened! Everyone knows what Ryou's like with girls and it was obvious Shiana was playing on that."

Bakura slowly nodded. "Yeah. But what about when I took over? When Shiana says what I said to her… the girls won't like him so much then." He refused to acknowledge the part of his mind that asked if that was really such a bad thing.

Yugi smiled. "We could tell when you took over. Right before it happened, Shiana said something and then Ryou suddenly looked very tired and closed his eyes. We could tell he was just getting ready to switch with you, but to anyone else, it would have looked like he was bracing himself for something unpleasant. I don't think you need to worry, Bakura. Everyone who knows Ryou knows that he'd never be mean to any girl unless he was really pushed into it."

Bakura smiled slightly. *Hear that, light? Not only can you enjoy the rest of the party without that flirt bothering you, but your reputation's safe too! Am I good or what?*

The response took a moment to come and when it did, it wiped the smile from Bakura's face. Ryou's mental voice revealed how much the evening had taken out of him. He sounded weak and more than a little ill. 

*You're very good. Thank you, Bakura. Would you mind staying out? I really don't feel like partying at the moment.*

*Sure, Ryou. How about we go now? It's almost nine and I promised the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment that I'd have that girl's card back to her by midnight. I'll take care of it. You get some rest.* Bakura's response was far more quiet than usual. Although Ryou didn't reply, Bakura could feel his light's agreement. 

He paused for a moment, more worried about his light than he cared to admit. *Why don't you use my soulroom? It's darker and quieter than yours.*

Ryou's relief and gratitude flooded Bakura's mind. *I will. Thank you.*

Bakura turned to Yugi. "Ryou's exhausted and I still have some business to take care of, so we'll go now."

Yugi nodded. "Fire Sorcerer, right? The Dark Magician told me about it earlier. He's very relieved that you've agreed to help. Apparently Fire Sorcerer is so upset that it's affecting his magic. His spells keep going haywire. He accidentally set fire to the Dark Magician's hat yesterday."

Despite his worry over his light, Bakura still managed a smirk at the thought of his least-favourite magician with his hat on fire. "Accidentally? Oh well, I'm sure his aim will improve eventually."

A snicker announced that Kaiba had arrived in time to hear Bakura's comment. Bakura nodded to him. "I'm off. I'd say it was a good party, but there are some lies that are too much even for me."

Kaiba's blue eyes held a look that was as close to apologetic as he ever got. "It might interest you to know that girl has left. She wasn't crying but her face was almost as red as her… that was a dress, wasn't it?" 

Bakura smirked. "More or less. If it had been any tighter, we could have stuffed her in a sarcophagus and put her on exhibit."

Amid the laughter from Joey, Tristan and Duke, Kaiba eyed Bakura thoughtfully. "Are you helping Mokuba's friend now or going straight home?" 

Bakura shook his head, bemused. "Is there anyone who doesn't know about that? Never mind, I don't think I want to know. The kid, then home. Why?"

"I need to know what address to tell the chauffeur." He shrugged when Bakura raised an eyebrow at him. "It's either that or run the risk of your being seen when you summon whatever Shadow Monster you were planning on summoning for transport. The last thing this city needs is another report of a skeletal mammoth wandering through the streets."

Bakura grinned, understanding what Kaiba wasn't saying. He felt guilty for their miserable time at the party and wanted to do something to make it up to them. Naturally, he'd never admit to such a thing. Just like Bakura would never admit to the fact that Kaiba had been right about his plan to call Mammoth Graveyard for a lift. "Thanks. Don't mind if we do."

To be continued…


	21. Morgan's Card

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 21: Morgan's Card  
By Shadow's Mirror

Bakura pulled himself over the six foot tall fence and paused a moment to scan the area before dropping lightly to the ground. A few moments later, he was settling himself comfortably in the crook of a handily-positioned tree and taking his deck out of his pocket. The first thing he had to do was get everyone out of the house. He'd made a few little additions to his and Ryou's normal deck for the night's enterprise, so that was simple enough. 

"Wall Shadow." A shadowy creature emerged from the card in Bakura's hand and slipped silently across the yard to vanish into the walls of the house. There was silence for a minute or two and then Bakura heard the first screams echo through the air. He smirked. "Music to my ears." 

Another minute or so passed before the back door opened and four people ran out into the yard. Bakura studied them curiously. 

There was nothing remarkable about the two adults. They were both in their mid-forties with dark hair and the trim builds of people who regularly go running or to the gym. They had obviously still been awake since they were dressed in normal daytime clothes rather than pajamas. Bakura toyed with the idea of calling Nemuriko to put them to sleep, but decided that they needed to know what their son had done. If all went according to plan, the boy would end up getting punished by them as well! Bakura rather liked that idea. 

The boy in question was a tall, gangly youth of about thirteen or fourteen. Certainly old enough to know better than to take something that was his little sister's. Bakura studied him with an experienced eye and knew immediately that he wasn't just a brat. He was a bully too. A rather arrogant one, judging by how he was acting now. Wall Shadow had startled them all, but he was pretending to be unconcerned about it. Like his parents, he too was still in his day clothes. 

Bakura knew that the girl, Morgan, was Mokuba's age since Mokuba had said she was in his class at school. He was surprised by how small she was though. She would have only come up to Mokuba's shoulder. Small and slight with a cap of dark brown wavy hair, she looked like a cross between Keymace and Fairy's Gift. She must have already been in bed because she was wearing red pajamas and fuzzy pink slippers with rabbit ears. Apparently she was a timid child, since she was clinging to her mother… or was she? 

Bakura peered at her more intently and almost laughed out loud when he realised the mother was actually holding tightly on to the little girl to keep her from going back inside! She wasn't afraid of Wall Shadow at all!

Bakura grinned. This was going to be fun!

*First off, I have to keep them all in the back yard. I could use Mirror Wall to block the door but there's no guarantee they wouldn't just run away. So…* Bakura held up a card. "Swords of Revealing Light." He kept his voice low so no one heard him. A brilliant flash of light appeared in the sky. The boy gasped in shock but Morgan started smiling as large shining swords appeared, hovering in the air and encircling the yard. The adults couldn't see the swords, or the light that shone out of them, but they could certainly feel the card's magical effect! They cried out in shock as they found themselves unable to move. The boy was also frozen in place, his face a mask of terror as he stared at the hovering swords. Morgan looked around in confusion. She took a small step forward, testing to see if she could still move.

The card froze only the opponent's monsters. As far as Bakura was concerned, Morgan was on his side. So his card had not affected her. He wondered if he'd made a miscalculation about that though when he saw the determined look that settled on the little girl's face as she started towards her brother. *Oops. Looks like she's decided to try to get her card back on her own! Can't have that. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun. Besides, that boy needs to be taught a lesson. I'd better act fast.*

He held up two cards. "Skull Servant, Multiply!" The boy immediately screamed in terror as he suddenly found himself surrounded by an army of cloaked skeletons, all holding their arms out as though trying to catch him. 

As he yelled in fear for his parents to help him, the adults blinked and stared at their son in shock. They couldn't see anything. Morgan could though. The little girl's eyes went wide in surprise as she froze in her tracks, but she didn't make a sound. After her initial shock, when she realised that the skeletons were only interested in her brother, she grinned. 

Bakura chuckled at Morgan's reaction as he brought two more skeletal Shadow Monsters into play. "The 13th Grave. Dark King of the Abyss." He rather liked skeletons. They were intimidating and loved scaring people. As far as Bakura was concerned, that made them the perfect choice for this particular job. 

As the two Shadow Monsters joined the hoard of Skull Servants, Bakura checked on Morgan. *Heh. She seems to be enjoying herself. She catches on quick too. She's stopped trying to get her card herself and is content to stand by and watch her brother embarrass himself in front of their parents. Good! Now then… how's the boy holding up?* The boy was trembling like a leaf, whimpering and crying out for his parents to stop the skeletons. *Not quite there yet. I haven't had this much fun in ages, but it's getting late and I want to get Ryou home soon. Time to end this.*

Bakura smirked and his dark eyes gleamed in predatory anticipation as he drew another two cards from his deck. As soon as he'd returned from the Shadow Realm the night before, he'd come up with this plan and had a word with all of the Shadow Monsters he'd chosen to use. They all knew what to do. His orders had been simple for Wall Shadow and the skeletons. For these last two Shadow Monsters though, his instructions had been more precise. 

First, he summoned The Cheerful Coffin. He was a Magic card that was used in duels to discard up to three cards from the duelist's hand to the Graveyard. But Bakura had no intention of using him for that. He had summoned him solely to stand by and smirk, something he was an expert at doing. The card was represented by a tall, thin, stoop-shouldered human-looking Monster in an old-fashioned black suit and top hat. Not all that menacing until you noticed the evil grin on his face. It was enough to send shivers down the spine of most duelists. The fact that he was holding a life-sized black coffin (complete with tasteful gold trim) didn't hurt either. 

The Cheerful Coffin appeared and immediately gave the boy his very best and most evil smirk. Just as he and Bakura had agreed earlier, he then spoke. His voice, which sounded rather like a creaky old door, made the boy jump. His words made the boy go several shades paler than normal. "So… you're the one the Reaper is coming to take."

"What? What do you mean? Reaper? But I… I haven't done anything! Why are you doing this to me? I haven't done…" The boy froze in mid-sentence, gazing in horror at the figure that was slowly appearing beside the coffin-bearer. 

The trailing ends of the hooded black cloak fluttered around the menacing shadowy figure as he hovered a few feet above the ground. His long bony hands clenched tightly around the handle of his curved scythe as he turned to face the boy. When he spoke, it was in a low rumbling whisper that made the boy sob in fear. "Thief. I have come for you." The words sent a sliver of ice up Bakura's spine, so he knew the boy must have been absolutely petrified. 

As the Reaper of the Cards raised his scythe and began to glide towards the boy, the terrified teen dropped to his knees and began sobbing in earnest. "I'm not a thief! I haven't done anything!" 

"You lie. You stole the Fire Sorcerer from his guardian. For that, you must pay the price." The Reaper was careful to glide very slowly. Not only did it give the boy time to work out what he meant, but it also gave his audience time to appreciate him at his most menacing. 

The boy gasped. "Fire Sorcerer? I… I…" He rummaged desperately in the back packet of his jeans and pulled something out. "Here! Take it! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have taken it! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! It was wrong, I know! I'll never do it again! I promise! Please… take it and go!" 

From his vantage-point in the tree, Bakura watched with great satisfaction and enjoyment as Morgan entered the game. Her eyes flashed as she pointed at her brother and cried out, "My card! Mama! Daddy! He's got my Fire Sorcerer card!" 

The two adults had been looking more and more bewildered but now they stared at their son in pure outrage. "Casey Akido! How dare you steal your little sister's card! You know how upset she's been! I don't know what's gotten into you, going through with all this nonsense, but you cut it out right now, young man! Give that card back to your sister this instant!" 

Bakura blinked. For such a mild-mannered looking guy, Morgan's dad could sure sound threatening when he wanted to. That was some voice he had. The rumble of thunder and the crack of lightning both rolled into one. Impressive. Not to mention effective. As bad as the boy had been trembling before, now he was shaking like a jelly in the path of a herd of stampeding camels.

The Swords of Revealing Light card's magical effect ended, and Bakura smirked as he also recalled all of Shadow Monsters on the 'field'. They had done their job. The rest was up to the adults. Besides, a sudden disappearance was far more effective than just walking out the gate. 

The boy looked around, stunned to see that the awful skeletons, coffin bearer and reaper had vanished. He shakily climbed to his feet, staring around fearfully as though he expected them to reappear at any moment. He was still holding his sister's stolen card, but not for long. 

His mother stalked over to him, her fury obvious in the jerky way that she moved and the thunderclouds that darkened her expression. "Young man… Your father and I have a few things to say to you. Inside. Now!" As she grabbed hold of his ear in one hand, she retrieved Morgan's card with the other. "There you are, dear." She smiled as Morgan ran over and accepted the card. 

As the furious parents marched their son inside, Morgan remained where she was. The little girl bowed her head, hugging her card tightly to her chest as though she would never let it go again. 

Bakura grinned. His job here was done, and he'd done it pretty well indeed, even if he did say so himself. As soon as the girl went back inside, he could go home. He eyed the girl thoughtfully. She looked like she'd be there for a while. Maybe he could sneak away without her noticing? 

He was about to try it when the full moon came out from behind a cloud and a bright beam of moonlight bathed little Morgan in its silvery light. Bakura was stunned into stillness as he suddenly sensed a powerful surge of Shadow Magic. He stared in shock as a shimmer of shadow began to take shape in front of the young girl. 

Fire Sorcerer looked like a human child of about 12 years old. He was engulfed from his neck down in a simple black robe that left only his small hands bare. His light ash-brown hair fell in gentle waves to just past his shoulders, except for his fringe, which was completely straight. In the moonlight, his eyes appeared to be colourless, or perhaps a very faint silver. To complete the look, a black witch's hat was perched at a jaunty angle towards the back of his head. 

The young Shadow Monster and Morgan stood gazing at each other for a long moment before Fire Sorcerer opened his arms. Morgan threw herself into them and the two young ones held each other tightly for some time before they slowly drew apart again. 

Bakura stared at the two in shock. How in the Shadows had such a young child managed to summon a Shadow Monster? As far as Bakura knew, the only ones strong enough in the Shadow Magic to do such a thing were the keepers of the Millennium Items. At least… now… Back in Ancient Egypt, before the Shadow Realm had been sealed, it had been different of course. But back then, the Shadow Magic had been known, and believed in. Bakura thought about that for a moment. 

Ryou had once told him that he had felt the beat of the heart of the cards the first time he had touched one. What if he wasn't the only one? What if there were other duelists, or even children and adults who had never touched a card, who could also sense that heartbeat? The cards were the link to the Shadow Magic, so if a child discovered that link… If a child learned how to use the magic… 

*Oh Ra… this could get interesting.*

Bakura checked on Morgan and Fire Sorcerer, wondering if he could make it out of the yard without the girl noticing. He was sure Fire Sorcerer knew he was there. The Shadow Monsters could usually sense the Millennium Items when they were near. If Fire Sorcerer could just keep Morgan distracted for the minute or two it would take to get back over the fence… Bakura's thoughts halted as he realised something.

Morgan was crying, and he had the sudden feeling that they weren't 'happy tears' as Ryou called them. The longer he watched the Shadow Monster try to comfort the crying girl, the more he was sure of it. Something was wrong. 

Blinded by her tears, the child would never see him if he left while she was crying. It was the perfect opportunity for him to go. But… there was something about the sight of the little girl sobbing in Fire Sorcerer's arms that made Bakura hesitate. He tried to tell himself that it was none of his business what was going on. He'd kept his promise to the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment. He had fulfilled his part of their bargain. That was it. All over. Except… When he looked towards the fence, his mind filled with the image of the little girl crying. 

Bakura sighed. 

* * *

Fire Sorcerer lightly held his upset friend and tried very hard to ignore the pain that threatened to tear his heart in two. This little human girl meant the world to him, and now he would never get to see her again. All because of her idiot brother. The only reason he wasn't crying with Morgan was because he had known this moment was coming since the day the boy had taken the card. He had felt the tragedy happen, and he had already cried until he had no tears left within his soul. 

He sensed the Millennium Ring's aura and looked up, startled when his eyes locked with those of a young white-haired human. The boy was standing in the shadows of the house, an irritated frown on his face as he eyed Morgan. Their eyes met again and Fire Sorcerer frowned back, displeased at having his last meeting with Morgan interrupted. Even by the spirit of the Ring. But when Bakura raised his eyebrow questioningly and glanced at Morgan again, Fire Sorcerer understood.

"It will be all right, Morgan. Even though your brother damaged my card, so you can no longer use it to duel, or to call me, I will always be with you. In your heart. As you will always be with me in mine. Somehow, someday, I know we'll be together again. I can feel it. Please, dry your tears. We have so little time left and there is so much that I still need to tell you." 

He had chosen his words carefully, so they not only comforted his friend, but also explained the situation to Bakura. When he looked up again and saw nothing but empty shadows, Fire Sorcerer smiled sadly, knowing that Bakura had heard the message and understood. Including the lightly disguised request for privacy. 

* * *

Bakura thought the situation through during the ride home, but he was no closer to an answer by the time he let himself in the kitchen door. 

A quick check on Father confirmed that he was still sound asleep in the living room. Nemuriko had made the sleep effect extra strong, so with a little luck Father would sleep through until dawn.

By the time he reached Ryou's bedroom, Bakura was officially exhausted. It had been a long and extremely trying day. As he stood in the middle of the room, he was tempted to just lie down and go to sleep as he was, but he knew his light would not be happy about that in the morning. Besides, he still stank of that cursed flirt's cursed perfume! Sighing, Bakura grabbed some clean pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

As he stood under the warm spray, Bakura quickly looked in on Ryou. His light's soul was sleeping peacefully in the yami's soulroom and Bakura was very tempted to join him. Only the knowledge that he needed to get Ryou's physical body out of the shower, dressed and into bed persuaded him to leave again. Thoughts of his light and the day that they had spent together filled his mind as he finished getting ready for bed. But there was another thought there too. The image of that little girl, Morgan, crying against Fire Sorcerer's chest, would not fade. 

* * *

"Cursed girl and her cursed tears… I can't believe I'm doing this." Bakura angrily pushed aside a vine that made the mistake of getting in his way and continued to stomp through the forest. When he arrived at the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment's clearing, he scowled up at the Shadow Monster.

"Hey! Tree! I've done as you wanted. But there seems to be a problem. Was there something about that girl's Fire Sorcerer card that you didn't tell me?" 

The more he had thought about it, the more certain he had become that there had been something odd about that card. When the boy, Casey, had held it up, Bakura thought he had seen it shine. An ordinary card wouldn't have done that. But the reactions of Morgan and Fire Sorcerer also made him wonder. If it was just an ordinary card, then there shouldn't have been a problem. All Morgan had to do was get another one. They weren't that rare. In fact, Bakura had seen one the week before in Yugi's Grandpa's shop! So why had Morgan and Fire Sorcerer been so upset? Something about the surge of Shadow Magic that he had felt when Fire Sorcerer had been summoned was also puzzling him. It hadn't felt quite the same as when he summoned a Monster. 

A gnarled face appeared on the tree's trunk. The Ancient Tree of Enlightenment blinked at Bakura and yawned, covering his mouth with a branch out of politeness. "What's going on? Oh, it's just you Bakura. Have you any idea what time it is? I'm an old tree. I need my sleep. Some of us were very busy today. I had three parties to attend and they were all in different parts of the forest. Have you any idea how hard it is for me to get around? It's not easy dragging my roots all over the forest, you know. Now then… What's the trouble, my boy? Was there a problem with getting Fire Sorcerer's card back?" The tree suddenly seemed much more alert as he peered anxiously at Bakura. 

"No. Getting it back was easy enough. The boy's parents seemed very eager to punish him for taking it too."

"Oh, that's excellent! Thank you, Bakura! Fire Sorcerer will be pleased!" The tree beamed.

"Yeah… well that's the thing. I got to see Fire Sorcerer's reaction, when the girl summoned him. Was there something about that card that you didn't tell me?" Bakura peered suspiciously at the tree, trying to judge if he was hiding something. It wasn't easy to tell that sort of thing with a tree, but Bakura thought he caught a hint of colour in the sections of bark around the tree's face. 

"Ah… I didn't know they'd reached that point already…" The tree sounded very pleased. "That is very good news. As for your question," he quickly continued as Bakura glared at him, "yes and no. It's rather a long story, and I'm afraid that I don't know all of it. You'd have to ask the Spirit of the Books for that. I do know the basics, however. Will that suffice?" 

"I'm waiting," Bakura growled softly. He was tired and by now it was past eleven o'clock. He just wanted to get his answer and go home so he could go to sleep. 

"Ah… yes… of course. Keep in mind now, I don't know the entire story. What I do know is that, during the initial creation of the Duel Monsters cards that are in your world now, something went wrong. Or perhaps right. It's still too early to tell. Usually, the cards themselves are not magical. They are merely the means by which the Shadow Magic can be channeled. However, among the very first Duel Monster cards created, there were some with magic of their own. Exactly how many there are, where they are and how strong they are, or even exactly what their magic can do, no one knows. So far, only two are known to us. Yugi holds one. His Dark Magician card. The second…"

An icy chill had been running up and down Bakura's spine ever since the tree had said that something had gone wrong. He had a sudden feeling that he knew what the second card was. "The second is the girl's Fire Sorcerer card." It wasn't a question, but the tree nodded anyway. "Oh Ra…" 

The Ancient Tree of Enlightenment frowned uneasily at Bakura's curse. "Bakura? Is something wrong?" He didn't like the way Bakura had suddenly gone pale.

"That card… could it be the reason why she can summon Fire Sorcerer?" Bakura really hoped that he was wrong, but the tree nodded in confirmation. "Shadows…" 

By now the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment was thoroughly alarmed. "Bakura! What is it? What is wrong? Did something happen to the child? Tell me!" 

Bakura slowly shook his head, silently cursing himself for the curiosity that had driven him here. He understood now why Morgan and Fire Sorcerer had been so upset, and he really wished that he didn't. Ryou was sure to ask about it and he would be unable to keep the truth from him, even though Bakura knew that it would greatly distress his sensitive light. 

"Nothing happened to the girl. It was the card. From what Fire Sorcerer said, the girl's brother… damaged the card somehow. Fire Sorcerer was there… but he was only saying goodbye."

The tree looked stunned, but then hope dawned in his eyes. "Wait! If Fire Sorcerer was summoned at all, then the card must still be working!"

Bakura shrugged. "All I know is what I heard. Fire Sorcerer told her that her brother had damaged the card so she couldn't use it anymore. Not even to duel with. He seemed to think that they only had a short amount of time left to say goodbye," Bakura remembered. 

He didn't know if it was important or not, but it had struck a chord with him. As if there was something that he had heard and should remember, but didn't. The tree seemed to understand though. He suddenly looked very sad, and unbelievably old. In one moment, the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment seemed to have aged several thousand years. 

"Ah… I see…"

Bakura glared at him. "I wish I did!" 

The tree smiled sadly. "There is a spell known to all of us here. We can use it only in the most dire of emergencies, for it draws on both our power, and that of the Shadow Realm itself, to such an extent that using it too much could destroy us all. It enables us to visit your world for a certain amount of time. When someone casts this spell, all of us know. It was cast earlier tonight."

"You'd hoped it was someone else." 

"Yes." The tree sighed heavily, the sound like that of a gust of wind stirring his leaves. For a moment, he was silent, then he roused himself and managed a slight smile for Bakura.

"Thank you for helping them tonight. At least, it enabled them to have a chance to say goodbye."

Bakura silently nodded. Once, he would have scoffed that it meant nothing, but not now. He knew his light now and that made it possible for him to understand the tree's meaning. 

If he could no longer be a part of Ryou, he'd want to say goodbye too.

To be continued…


	22. Bakura's Christmas Gifts

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 22: Bakura's Christmas Gifts  
By Shadow's Mirror

Half past eleven had just struck when Bakura stepped through the dark shadow portal into Ryou's bedroom. Yawning sleepily, he headed for the bed but paused before climbing in. Something was bothering him about what the Ancient Tree of Enlightenment had said, but he couldn't quite work out what. Although he was very tired, he had the strongest sense that it was important and he knew he'd be unable to sleep until he figured out what was wrong. Just because he couldn't sleep though, it didn't mean that Ryou's physical body had to stay awake with him. 

With Ryou's soul sleeping soundly in Bakura's soulroom and his physical body tucked into bed and also 'asleep', Bakura appeared in the room in his spirit form. Sighing, he sat down on the bed and tried to get his exhausted mind to focus on the problem. 

The girl's Fire Sorcerer card was unique, but it had been damaged so badly that she couldn't use it anymore. Even if she did get a replacement card, she wouldn't be able to summon Fire Sorcerer with it. Although she did have some Shadow Magic, it was the card that boosted it enough for her to actually summon a Shadow Monster, and it only worked on Fire Sorcerer. Those were the facts and there was no getting around them. Without the card, Morgan couldn't call Fire Sorcerer, and the card was… damaged…

Bakura blinked and frowned. Something about that last part… There was something there that wasn't quite right. But what? Annoyed with himself, Bakura stood and started pacing across the room and back as he tried to work out what was bothering him. And why he cared about something that was none of his business anyway! 

As he walked past Ryou's desk for the fifth time, Bakura's attention was caught by the large book sitting there. He froze, his gaze locked on the book as words and thoughts tumbled through his mind so rapidly he could barely keep up with them. 

Bakura had read through the book's index several times by now and he had a rough idea of what spells were in there. One of those spells… Yes, he was almost sure that one of those spells had said something about repairing damaged cards! He remembered thinking at the time that it might come in handy some day!

He eagerly reached out towards the book. His hand had barely touched the faded cover when the book began to glow with a faint silvery light. Startled, Bakura backed off a step. He watched in shock as the book opened by itself, the pages blurring as they turned rapidly to a particular page. When they stopped, Bakura stared at the page in disbelief. 

The title of the spell was simply 'To Repair a Damaged Card'. Both title and spell were written in easily understood Hieroglyphs and were as clear and simple as all the other spells he had tried had been illegible, cryptic and complicated. 

Bakura looked at the spell for some time before his shock began to wear off and caution crept in. Remembering the last time he'd come across a spell written in Hieroglyphs, and what would have happened if he had cast it without first checking with Dark Witch, Bakura read through it very carefully. He also checked the pages before and after, just in case, but they were both written in the untidy scrawl that Bakura was starting to get used to. Still, he hesitated. 

The other times, he had paid the price for his mistakes. This time, if he did something wrong, a little girl and a Shadow Monster would pay the price. But the longer he looked at the spell, the more certain he was that there was no mistake. In his mind, he worked out the changes that he needed to make for it to do what he wanted then, taking a deep breath, he began to cast the spell. 

"A Duelist daughter, Morgan by name,  
Needs Fire Sorcerer in her game.  
Damaged, the card now silent lies,  
And Morgan's broken heart now cries.  
The bond between girl and card is strong,  
Let the Shadows right this awful wrong.  
Draw from my mind what you must know,  
Then to her card let the Magic flow.  
There is one way to ease her pain,  
Let her damaged card be whole again.  
I beseech the Shadows to understand,  
And restore the card in Morgan's hand."

As soon as he had spoken the final word, Bakura sensed the Shadow Magic. It gathered swiftly, its cold touch lightly caressing his body as it swirled around him. He could see it now. The dark energy wound around him from his ankles to his chest and down again in a continuous stream that resembled writhing black smoke. Bakura frowned uneasily, unsure why the magic was winding around him. But then images of Morgan and her card began to fill his mind and he understood. 

It was part of the spell. The Shadow Magic was drawing from his mind the information that it needed in order to complete the spell, namely who 'Morgan' was and where she, and her card, could be found! Bakura closed his eyes and concentrated on the address and the image of Morgan and Fire Sorcerer. The last thing he wanted was for the spell to repair the wrong card!

Suddenly, he felt the Shadow Magic begin to fade. His eyes snapped open and he stared in shock at the ball of light that was hovering right in front of him, barely a few feet away. The Shadow Magic was unwinding from around him and flowing in a steady stream into the ball. When it was all inside, the golden ball began to change. Slowly it grew more translucent until it looked like it was made from clear glass. An image began to form in its heart. 

It was an unfamiliar bedroom. There were posters of cute kittens and unicorns on the wall beside childish drawings of Duel Monsters. Bakura only recognised a few of them. Most of them were low-power Monsters that he never bothered with, but there were a few that made him blink in surprise. The main poster hung on the wall above the bed. Fire Sorcerer in a 'I mean business' pose. The rest of the room was as you might expect for a young girl, although it was almost as neat as Ryou's room with books and toys set out neatly on shelves. The bedspread was definitely not 'little girlie' though. It was black with red, gold and orange flames running around the edge. A little figure was curled up in the bed. 

Morgan seemed even smaller when surrounded by pillows and covers and Bakura's stomach clenched uncomfortably when he saw that she was still awake. Her cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes were red from crying, but she lay still and silent as she gazed sadly at the card she held carefully in her hands. 

The image in the crystal ball began to move. Slowly, the focus narrowed from a scene of the whole room to just the bed. It kept zooming in and the image was soon entirely of Morgan looking at her card. The image didn't stop there though. Before long, the card in the little girl's hands was the only thing visible in the orb. Bakura leaned forward slightly, studying the damage intently.

The card looked quite old. It was faded and dirty and had several crease marks in it, as though it had been stuffed in pockets and handled roughly for many years. Morgan handled it so gently, it was obvious that she had not caused such damage. Whoever had held it before, they had been very careless in looking after it. But it wasn't the card's general state that made Bakura want to consign Morgan's older brother to the Shadow Realm for all eternity. He knew now why the card could no longer be used, either in duels or to summon Fire Sorcerer. 

It had been torn almost completely in two!

Bakura knew there were only two ways to destroy the heart of a card; destroy the card itself, or tear the card into pieces. In Morgan's case, her card wasn't quite destroyed. The tear didn't reach all the way across. As long as it didn't tear completely, the Shadow Magic would still flow through it. But the card was so badly damaged it wouldn't take much to finish what Morgan's brother had started. In the state it was in, even drawing it from a dueling deck would probably be the end of it.

As Bakura stared in shocked horror at the damaged card, a faint golden glow began to surround it. The yami leaned forward slightly, his gaze intent on the image within the orb as the tear slowly began to close. As the torn edges drew together, the tear became a faint line. Once the tear was completely gone, the faint line faded away to reveal the card. Undamaged. 

But the magic wasn't quite finished. 

The golden glow became a faint shimmer over the card's surface before it too faded away, revealing a card as crisp and clean as if it had just come out of a pack! 

"Incredible," Bakura whispered, for once in awe of the power of the Shadow Magic. The image in the orb began to shift again and he smiled slightly as Morgan came into view. 

The little girl was now sitting up in bed, her wide eyes gazing at the card in her hands as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The next moment, a big smile lit up her face. She held the card up and a shimmer of shadow appeared in the air beside her bed. But unlike the other time Bakura had seen Fire Sorcerer appear, this time tiny dancing flames accompanied the shadow. The young Shadow Monster appeared just in time to catch Morgan as she flew out of bed and threw herself at him. He stared at her in shock and confusion for a moment before a look of pure joy settled on his face. Closing his eyes, Fire Sorcerer hugged little Morgan tightly.

Bakura breathed a sigh of relief. It was done. The spell had worked and everyone was happy. He smiled tiredly as the orb darkened into a ball of shadows that quickly dissolved into the original stream of Shadow Magic that had entered it. Writhing like smoke, the dark energy wound lightly around Bakura before vanishing. But this time, the yami was aware of the difference in its touch.

Before, it had been ice-cold. This time, it had been warmer… Like the warmth that filled Bakura's soulroom whenever his light was especially happy. Or the warmth that filled Bakura's heart whenever Ryou smiled at him. At that thought, Bakura instinctively glanced over at the bed. He was startled to see Ryou sitting up and looking back at him, a gentle smile on his face.

"Light… I thought you were still asleep. How long…?" Bakura hoped that his light hadn't seen too much, but his expression wasn't encouraging. Ryou rarely looked at him with such open affection. Usually, it only happened when Bakura had done something especially embarrassing.

"A while. I woke while you were pacing. You were muttering to yourself. In Egyptian, I think. Whatever you were saying, it sounded rude."

Bakura felt heat rise into his cheeks. He had cursed the boy for damaging his sister's card at one point. He hadn't realised he'd actually cursed out loud. "Sorry, Ryou." 

Ryou silently slipped out of bed and crossed to his yami. When he was standing in front of Bakura, he gave him a warm smile. "Don't be. I wouldn't have missed that spell for the world. I take it that something went wrong tonight?" 

Bakura shook his head. "Not exactly. I got the card back to the girl, but her brother had damaged it. I didn't know what the problem was, so I went to see the tree again. Turns out, it's a special card. The Shadow Magic in it allowed the kid to summon the card's Monster, Fire Sorcerer." Ryou gasped and Bakura nodded. "Yeah. With the card damaged, it wouldn't work anymore and it couldn't just be replaced because it wasn't an ordinary card. Then I remembered seeing this spell." 

He shrugged, suddenly embarrassed. "It… wasn't much trouble. I… figured it would be a good… test. You know… in case any of our cards were ever damaged like that." From the look Ryou was giving him, Bakura had a feeling he hadn't fooled his normally naïve light. Very uncomfortable, Bakura looked away. "That's all. Really. It's not like I… cared what happened or anything." 

"Of course not, Bakura." The yami whipped his head around, peering suspiciously at his light. Had that been a hint of laughter in Ryou's voice? Bakura glared at him. Just in case. 

Ryou looked at Bakura for a moment, an odd look in his dark eyes. He seemed suddenly unsure of himself. "Bakura… I… have a present for you. I meant to give it to you earlier, but there never seemed to be a good time… until now."

Bakura blinked at the unexpected comment. Then he remembered. "It's still Christmas…" He was surprised by that. What with everything that had happened, he'd completely forgotten about it. He'd also managed to forget about the present that Ryou had mentioned two days earlier. Now that Ryou had reminded him about it though, he recalled his intention to give his light a Father-free Christmas.

"Um… Ryou… I…" As the boy fetched a small package from his wardrobe, Bakura took a deep breath. "I didn't think we were trading presents so I… didn't get you anything. But then I thought, what you really wanted was to have a good Christmas and go to Yugi's and everything so…" 

He trailed off, suddenly aware of how little he'd done. Summoning Change of Heart and Nemuriko to bespell Father so he and Ryou could go out… That wasn't really a Christmas present. He would have done the same thing no matter what day it was! Besides, Ryou hadn't ended up having the perfect Christmas. Father had interrupted their pillow fight and bothered them several times during the afternoon and then there had been the disastrous Christmas party at Kaiba's… Bakura suddenly felt very ashamed of himself. He bowed his head, unable to look at his light. 

"I… I'm sorry, Ryou. I… It seemed like a good idea at the time…" 

"Oh, Bakura…" Bakura frowned slightly at the oddly choked tone of Ryou's voice. Before he could look up to see what was wrong though, his light gently rested his hand on Bakura's shoulder. "Thank you! That's a wonderful gift!" 

Bakura looked up and scowled furiously at his light. "No, it's not! Don't you get it, Ryou? I didn't get you anything special! Even Father got you more than I did! I didn't do anything I wouldn't have done anyway! I forgot about you! You remembered me, but I… Oh… Ra… I… I didn't mean that! I'm sorry, Ryou!" 

Bakura silently cursed himself into the Dark Abyss as his light's happy expression crumpled in pain at the thoughtless words. Bakura was so busy trying to work out what to do that he almost missed his light's soft reply. 

"Do you really think so little of me?" 

"W… what?" Bakura blinked at Ryou, confused by the question. "What do you mean?"

Ryou looked his yami directly in the eyes. "Bakura… you're an idiot. Do you honestly believe that I would value some… physical object… more than I value the knowledge that you care enough about me to want me to have a happy Christmas? Do you really think the fact that you would have done it no matter what day it was, makes it worthless? It doesn't! Not to me! Knowing that you would do that for me, just because it needed to be done… That makes it all the more special! Here!" 

Ryou shoved his present into his shocked yami's hands and stormed across the room to the bed. "I'm going to sleep. Don't wake me unless you're prepared to admit that I'm right!" 

Bakura stared after his furious light in stunned amazement for a long moment. Finally, he looked down at the gift in his hands. He carefully unwrapped it, pleased to see that his hands weren't shaking as badly as he'd thought. When he saw the shimmering black photo frame, he was surprised. When he saw the picture in the frame though…

"Ryou…" His voice was barely a whisper as he gently stroked the frame. He could feel the Shadow Magic it was created from, as well as a slight sense of the one who had made it. It seemed that he hadn't been the only one to seek Dark Witch's advice in relation to Christmas presents. He had no doubt that he'd be able to take this gift into his soul room. Where it belonged. 

Looking at the picture, Bakura suddenly understood what his light had meant. Slowly, he crossed the room. For a long moment he simply stood beside the bed, looking down at his light as Ryou pretended to be asleep, then Bakura dropped to his knees. "Light… you're absolutely right. Thank you for the gift. It's perfect."

As Ryou opened his eyes and smiled at him, Bakura obeyed his instincts and lightly brushed his hand against the boy's soft cheek. Ryou went still for a moment in shock but, when the gentle touch continued, he relaxed again. He blinked sleepily, still smiling. "I'm glad you like it. It's almost midnight. We should get some rest." 

Bakura nodded and stood. He was suddenly aware of just how reluctant he was to leave his light alone and return to his empty soulroom. Looking down at the boy, who was already drifting off to sleep, Bakura suddenly grinned. 

* * *

Ryou stirred as he felt the covers lift up and the bed dip behind him. Confused, he rolled over onto his back and blinked as he found himself face to face with his guilty-looking yami. "Bakura?"

The spirit felt heat rising into his cheeks and was suddenly glad it was too dark to see much. The moonlight streaming in the window was just enough for him to see his light's confusion. He shrugged, uncomfortable beneath the boy's silent appraisal. "It's Christmas. Can't a yami stay with his light if he feels like it? I'll go if you want me to," he finished quietly, looking away. He wasn't prepared to admit to the sudden loneliness that had made him unwilling to return to his empty soulroom.

Ryou was surprised, but he didn't say anything. The truth was, he liked having his yami with him like this. Knowing that he was so near… Ryou had always found great comfort in that. It made him feel safe and protected, and his sleep was always deep and unplagued by nightmares. "No, I don't mind." 

Rolling back to his side, facing away from Bakura, Ryou shifted until he was comfortable and closed his eyes. He was almost asleep when he realised that Bakura was talking quietly to him.

"What was that?" he murmured sleepily.

Bakura hesitated. He wasn't sure what had made him say it in the first place, but to have to repeat it… But the thought that had popped into his mind refused to go away. "I said, do you remember our conversation the day before yesterday?" 

Ryou rolled onto his back again and turned his head so he could see his yami. "Which one?"

"When I told you about how the Ring's been stolen a few times over the centuries." When Ryou didn't reply straight away, Bakura nudged him with his elbow. "Ryou? Are you still awake?" 

"Yes, I'm awake." Ryou's voice was very quiet, but Bakura knew he heard sadness in it. "I remember the conversation. What about it?"

"Why does the thought of the Ring being stolen upset you?" Bakura hadn't known what he was going to say. The words just blurted out of his mouth and he winced at how confused he sounded.

Ryou was silent for some time. Bakura was about to elbow him again when he finally spoke. "Because the thought of you being with someone else like you are with me… It makes me jealous. I guess I never pictured you with anyone else before. I'm your light. You're my yami. It never even occurred to me that you might have had… other lights…" 

His light's voice was so soft, Bakura could barely hear it, but the answer caused a warm feeling to spread through his chest. He wasn't sure how to respond for a moment, but then he thought about what his light had said to him earlier, about how he liked knowing that Bakura cared, and suddenly he knew exactly what he needed to do. 

"I haven't." Bakura could feel his light's confusion through their mind-link. "Wearing the Ring doesn't automatically make someone a light. It just means that I gain access to the wearer's mind and body, so I can take control of them." 

He was quite for a moment before he added more quietly, "I've taken over countless bodies in the past, but that's all it was. I rarely looked into their hearts, and never into their souls. I didn't even go into their minds any deeper than I absolutely had to. I never cared about them. I was never curious to know anything about them. They never meant anything to me. They were just bodies for me to use. When I was done with them, I returned to the Ring and let the Gravekeepers take me back to the tomb."

Bakura hesitated, unsure if he really wanted to say anything more. He didn't want to hurt his light, but the boy had asked and Bakura didn't want to lie to him. At least, not at that particular moment. 

"There was only one who was different. He was just a kid. Barely eight years old. He was so much like I'd been at his age. I ended up staying with him for a few months. That was a record for me. I wasn't sorry to leave though. Being in an eight year oldie's body wasn't exactly fun for me."

Another hesitation, this one as Bakura shifted uncomfortably. When he finally spoke, his voice was very soft and strangely hesitant. 

"I've controlled countless bodies and minds, I've even looked into a few hearts here and there, but… Ryou… you're the only one who's mind, heart and soul I've ever really known. Just like yours is the only soulroom, other than my own, that I've ever gone into. You don't need to worry about the others. They were nothing. You're my light."

There was a long moment of silence and then Bakura felt Ryou's hand brush against his. The boy slipped his hand into his yami's and squeezed it lightly. "Thank you, Bakura."

Bakura smiled slightly and returned the slight pressure before he allowed himself to relax. "You're welcome, Ryou." 

Ryou smiled. Bakura didn't know it, but he had given his light the best Christmas present ever.

Comfortable and warm, Bakura looked up at the photo he'd placed on the bedside table. The frame glowed softly with a faint silvery light, easily illuminating the photo it held. In the photo, two boys stood with their arms loosely around each other, laughing together. Bakura remembered the moment. It had happened when he had taken Ryou to thank Dark Witch for their kittens. On the way back through the forest, Ryou had impulsively stopped and hugged him. 

Bakura smiled at the memory and closed his eyes. He and his light were soon sound asleep. 

* * *

On the other side of town, a very irritated teenage boy punched a number into the telephone in the kitchen of his home. While he waited for the call to go through, he paced as far as the telephone cord would allow him to. By the time the call was answered, he was in no mood to be polite. 

"Yeah. It's me. The brat got her card back." He listened for a moment before smirking. "Nah. Don't worry about that. I tore the card, just like you said. Badly enough so she couldn't use it, but not completely through. There's no way she'll ever be able to use it again. You should have seen her. She couldn't stop crying over that stupid card. She's probably still crying! Good. Serves her right. She got me grounded for a month!" 

He listed again and then grinned. "So… when do I get my money?" His smile faded as he listened. "What? Hey! That's not fair! I did what you wanted! It's not my fault she got it back! Like I said, it's ruined. She'll never be able to play with it again." His smirk became a chuckle as he listened some more. "Great! Tomorrow it is! See you there!" 

Hanging up, Casey Akido went up to bed, smug and confident that his cousin would come through with the money. 

* * *

In a classy hotel room in the heart of Domino City, a young man with shoulder-length blonde hair, and steel grey eyes smiled, a cruel twist of his thin lips, as he hung up the phone. It was a pity that Morgan had recovered her card, but it made no difference. Casey had damaged it, so she couldn't use it anyway. That was one less thing to worry about, and it would only cost him a hundred dollars! Considering what was at stake, it was small change.

Well pleased with how his plans were going, Evien Sanders turned off the light and went to bed, to dream of power, dueling, monsters and a shadowy presence that always remained just out of sight.

To be continued…


	23. Spoken in Anger

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: *Text* indicates a character's thoughts. It also indicates a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

AUTHOR'S MOOD: Today I feel... evil ::insert evil laughter here::

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 23: Spoken in Anger  
By Shadow's Mirror

One minute, Ryou was strolling happily through the park on his way home from school, enjoying the crisp air and chuckling to himself at the sound of his yami snoring contentedly in his soulroom. The next minute he found himself surrounded by the Yamahaka Gang, a group of ten bullies all in their late teens and all much bigger, taller and tougher than Ryou. 

Their leader, Keaven Yamahaka, sneered down at the startled boy. "Well, well, lookie what we have here, boys. If it isn't that little white-haired freak that hangs around with that Yugi kid. I hear he likes games too. What say we have a little fun with him?" The other boys laughed. Keaven smirked at Ryou. "How 'bout it freak, wanna play with us?" 

As the other boys howled with laughter, Ryou tried to keep his panic from showing, or from waking up his very possessive, very protective, very grumpy-when-woken-up yami. "Do you mean a duel?" he asked hopefully. A duel he could manage. As the boys closed in around him though, he had a sinking feeling that wasn't what they meant. When Keaven sneered at him, he knew he was in big trouble. 

"Duels are for wimps like you. Real men play other games. Like my favourite game. I'm sure you'll love it. It's called 'Tag'. You're it." 

His fist struck Ryou across the cheek, causing the boy's head to whip around and a jolt of pain to flood through him. Ryou barely noticed that though. His attention was focused inwards, on the second of the two souls within him. The soul belonging to a yami who had just been very abruptly awoken from a sound sleep, and who was making sure that his light knew just how unhappy he was about it. 

When Ryou didn't make a sound and didn't even seem to register that he'd been struck, Keaven snarled and repeated his attack. Or rather, he tried to. Much to his surprise, his fist was caught in a strong grip before the blow landed. 

Bakura glared at the fool who had dared to strike his light. "So… you like to hit people, do you? Let's see how you like being the punching bag for a change!" His other hand moved faster than Keaven could duck. The blow dropped Keaven to the ground like a stone. He moaned and Bakura grinned. He really liked the sound a bully made when he had been taught a lesson. Judging from the way the other bullies were moving towards him though, it seems that the lesson had been wasted on them. Bakura smirked, not minding in the least. He was more than ready for a fight. 

Ever since Christmas, a few weeks earlier, life had been very quiet and peaceful for Bakura and his light. Entirely too quiet and peaceful, as far as the ancient spirit was concerned. 

Back in the days of Ancient Egypt, Bakura had spent his time going from one adventure to another as he sought out the most valuable treasures from the tombs. Considering how well the Egyptians guarded their tombs, with traps and wards and sometimes even spells and curses, only the most skilled and bravest tombrobbers survived. Bakura had been one of the best. He'd thrived on the excitement and the danger. 

At first, his existence as the Spirit of the Millennium Ring had been similar. As long as people were after the Ring, and he got to cause as much trouble as a spirit could possibly want to, Bakura had been happy. But all of this tedious normality was starting to bore him. 

A bored yami was not a good thing.

Bakura looked around at the group of bullies surrounding him and his smirk widened into an evil grin. "Bring it on." 

At first, he had the upper hand. The bullies were startled by 'weak and pathetic Ryou's' sudden willingness to fight, not to mention his skill in doing so, so Bakura had the element of surprise. It didn't take long for that surprise to wear off though. 

After that, he managed to hold his own, but as the fight wore on, Bakura began to wonder if maybe he hadn't been a little overconfident. The bullies were tougher than he had expected and there were quite a few of them. The longer the fight lasted, the greater the chance that Ryou's body would give out. Already, Bakura could feel exhaustion and pain dragging at his limbs as he moved. He silently cursed the weakness of the mortal body he was forced to share, forgetting, in the thrill of battle, that the body's true owner heard every mental snarl and sneer he made. 

The blow came from behind him, striking him in the ribs and sending Bakura to his knees in agony. As he gasped for breath, he was hit again. This time, the blow came from the side, striking across his shoulder with enough force to knock Bakura to the ground. He started to scramble to his feet, only to realise with dismay that his body would no longer obey him. The disgustingly fragile shell had been used past its endurance. Even pushing up with his hands, Bakura only succeeded in getting a few inches off the ground before his arms began to tremble violently. 

He saw the kick coming and his eyes instinctively closed against the pain he knew it would bring. When the pain didn't come, he opened one eye cautiously. It took him a moment to understand what he was seeing. When he did, part of him was very relieved. The rest of him was extremely annoyed. 

Joey and Tristan had entered the fight. Between them, they took out the remaining bullies with great enthusiasm. It wasn't much of a fight really, since their fight with Bakura had already weakened the bullies. As the last of them ran off, Joey extended his hand to the exhausted yami. "Hey man. Thought you could use a little help." 

Bakura snarled. His annoyance over Ryou's body's weakness kindled into full-scale rage, fueled by Joey's innocent comment. "Well I didn't!" Ignoring the offered hand, he started to get up, forgetting in his anger about his body's unwillingness to move anymore. He winced as his arm gave out and he hit the ground again. He glared at Joey as the boy dared to give him a pitying look. "Keep your pity to yourself! You've saved Ryou's pathetic body, now get lost!" 

Tristan winced and shook his head. "Man Bakura… that's one bad attitude you have there. I thought we'd seen the last of that." 

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Bakura's voice was low and deadly, but Tristan didn't realise the danger that he was in. Joey did though. Unfortunately, his urgent signals to Tristan to shut up went unnoticed. 

"Well, you and Ryou have been getting along so great! Just the other day, I said to Joey that it was hard to believe that you'd ever been so evil that you'd tried to steal Yugi's puzzle. I mean, these days you're all protective and gentle and stuff. Ryou… Joey, will you quit it with the poking already! What is it, man?" Tristan glared at Joey, who was looking nervously at Bakura. 

"Tristan. You're an idiot. And going by the look Bakura's giving you, you're gonna be a dead idiot if you're still around when he gets up."

"Huh? What are you talking… about… Uh oh." Tristan finally noticed the fury in the yami's eyes. 

Swallowing hard, he tried to smile as he started backing away. "Um… sorry Bakura, I didn't mean to… um… offend you or anything like that… I think it's great the way you've been with Ryou lately! I mean he's been really…" Tristan pulled his arm out of Joey's grip without taking his eyes off Bakura. Beside him, Joey took one look at the enraged yami and started considering how far he'd get if he tried to run for cover.

"Not. Another. Word." The words came out as a low snarl. 

Bakura was furious. Until that moment, it hadn't really sunk in just how much he'd changed. He could barely believe how pathetic and weak he'd become. All this time, he'd said that about Ryou, but now he was just the same! It was too much. He suddenly couldn't stand it any longer. 

His rage lent him the strength he needed to scramble to his feet. Even then, he swayed slightly. Ignoring the pain, and the two extremely nervous teenagers who quickly got out of his way, Bakura stalked off for home. 

If he hadn't run into Yugi on his way out of the park, things might not have ended up the way they did.

"Ryou! What happened to… Oh! Sorry Bakura, I didn't realise it was you. What happened? Did Ryou have a fall or something?" Yugi looked up at Bakura, his wide amethyst eyes anxious for his friend's well-being. Bakura scowled. He would have ignored the question, except that Yugi would probably just follow him home until he got an answer. Yugi was stubborn that way.

"Yamahaka's gang." He started to push past Yugi, and tensed as a strong hand suddenly grabbed his arm in a punishing grip. He knew who he'd see even before he turned to glare. 

"Bakura! Why didn't you help Ryou?" It was hard to tell which of the two yamis was angrier, Yami or Bakura.

"I did! Not that I'll get any thanks for it." Bakura sneered. "That pitiful weakling has been huddled crying in his soulroom ever since I took over this pathetic body! You'd think he'd be grateful that I spared him a beating, wouldn't you? But no, he's crying because I gave those bullies exactly what they deserved! I just gave them a taste of their own medicine, after all. Well I don't care! You hear me, Ryou? I did what needed to be done, and I'm not sorry about it!" 

He glared at the Pharaoh, silently daring him to respond. Bakura was in the mood for a good argument. Especially one that he could win by sealing a certain self-righteous Pharaoh into his own deck of Duel Monster cards! His hand inched towards the golden Ring hanging around his neck as his dark eyes blazed.

Yami frowned at him. "Don't even think of it, Bakura." His voice carried a low note of warning that got through to Bakura in spite of his anger, causing an icy chill to snake up his spine and his hand to stop in mid-reach for the Ring. "As for your 'sparing' Ryou…" He eyed the disheveled yami up and down disdainfully. "I'd say your 'medicine' did worse damage to Ryou than anything any number of bullies could have done to him." 

Bakura had heard enough. First Joey and Tristan, now Yami… and he knew Ryou would give him that half-scared, half-wounded look of his for the rest of the day as well. It was enough to drive a yami insane. Or, in Bakura's case, make him grab the Ring and do something he'd done once before. 

The last time he'd sealed Yugi's soul in a card, he'd been trying to steal the Millennium Puzzle. This time, Bakura did it both in revenge for Yami's irritating lecture and as a distraction. While the shocked and horrified yami was busy restoring his light's soul to its rightful place, Bakura took the opportunity to slip away before he ended up consigned to the Shadow Realm. Again. 

* * *

For the rest of the journey home, Bakura focused on the pain coursing through his body rather than the distress, horror and disbelief he could feel coming through his mind-link with his light. By the time he wearily pushed open the door to Ryou's bedroom, Ryou had fallen silent and Bakura had calmed down enough to come to a very uncomfortable realisation. 

Yami had been right… curse him to the Shadows…

In his eagerness for a bit of excitement, Bakura had deliberately chosen to physically fight the bullies, rather than simply seal their souls in something like he usually did. In doing so though, he'd underestimated them. Badly. It had been a mistake that could well have cost more than he'd been prepared to lose… if Joey and Tristan had not intervened. Bakura sighed heavily. Curses. He'd have to have Ryou thank them the next time he saw them. 

Speaking of his light… 

Bakura winced as he sat down on the side of the bed, both from the pain his movement caused and from the memory of what he'd said, thought and done that afternoon. His painful walk home had given him plenty of time to think over what had happened and he knew his reaction to Tristan's words had come from his anger at getting Ryou into such a situation, his humiliation at having to be rescued and his shock at how much he'd changed over the past year or so. The fact that Ryou's friends had noticed the changes and dared to comment on them… it had been the final straw. 

Some of the things he'd said… Bakura winced again. He'd meant all of it… at one time or another… but that afternoon, it had been as though everything he'd ever been angry about had just come bursting out. He knew he'd have to say something to Ryou. But he refused to even consider apologising to the Pharaoh! If he hadn't poked his nose in where it wasn't wanted… Still, sealing Yugi in a card had been a mistake. "I should have sealed that cursed Pharaoh instead of his light," Bakura muttered to himself, making a mental note to do that next time.

*Next time…* The soft voice filled Bakura's mind, surprising him. He hadn't realised his light had been able to sense his thoughts. He wondered what else the boy had sensed… Then Ryou continued speaking and every thought was completely wiped from Bakura's mind. 

*If you think there's going to be a next time… You're not at all sorry about anything that happened this afternoon, are you? The thought of apologising to everyone hasn't even entered your mind, except for the knowledge that you're definitely not going to! I am not going to make your apologies for you, Bakura. Not this time! It's about time you learned to apologise for your own mistakes! You didn't give any thought at all to our safety when you entered that fight and you insulted and threatened our friends just because they showed a little concern for us! Even when you realised that you were wrong, you weren't worried about how much you've hurt everyone, only with working out how to avoid apologising and what to do the next time you decide to have a temper tantrum!*

For a moment, Bakura was too stunned to react. His light… his gentle, considerate, quiet light… had never spoken so harshly to him before and he was shocked by it. Then he lost his temper. Again.

In a flash, Bakura stood on the other side of the room in his spirit form, his hands on his hips and his dark eyes burning with fiery rage as he glared at his light. "Temper tantrum? I'm no child, Ryou! That was no child's tantrum, it was anger. My anger. You should recognise it. Your friends are always going on about how often I'm angry with you! As for the fight and our safety… You say that like it's all my fault this happened! If you weren't such a target, those bullies wouldn't have picked on you in the first place! If you were stronger, I could have taken them out and they wouldn't have touched us even once! I grew up fighting, Ryou! I knew what I was doing! It was your body's strength that gave out on me, not the other way around!"

Ryou's eyes were twins of his yami's as their glares locked. Although the light very rarely lost his temper, he'd had enough of his yami's bad behaviour for one day. "You're right, I have seen you angry. I've also seen you overreact, and that's exactly what happened today! You completely overreacted to a perfectly innocent comment! Joey and Tristan were only trying to help. That's what friends do. But instead of accepting that help, and their friendship, you just had to push them away! That's all you ever do, Bakura! Every time someone tries to get close to you…" Ryou suddenly stopped, his face going pale and his eyes widening with shock and distress, as though he'd said far more than he had intended to. He held up one shaking hand. "Bakura…" 

"You've said quite enough, Ryou." The spirit's fury pounded in waves through their mind-link and Ryou weakly dropped his hand back to his side. All the anger seemed to just drain out of him and he suddenly looked very small and very tired. When Bakura summoned the Book of Secret Arts though, Ryou somehow found the strength to struggle to his feet. 

"Bakura! No! Whatever you're planning, don't do it! Please!" He took a step forward, his hand reaching out towards his yami. At Bakura's glare, he froze, still looking more than a little panicked.

"You can't stop me, Ryou. Not this time. I've had enough of all this fooling around. Friendship. Feelings. Love. Bah! Who needs them!" His voice was a low snarl and there was a look in his eyes that suddenly made Ryou very frightened. 

"What… what are you going to do?" He sounded like a scared little Bonemouse, which wasn't all that far from the truth. 

"What I've intended to do since the first time I summoned this book!" Bakura's eyes gleamed as he smiled. It was a cruel smile. An evil parody of the mischievous smirk that Ryou had come to know well over the past few months. A smile that turned Ryou's blood to ice. 

"I'm going to use it to get everything that I've ever wanted."

Ryou shook his head, ignoring the pain the movement caused. "No! You can't! You mustn't! I… I can't let you do it, Bakura! I won't!" 

Bakura sneered at the trembling boy. "Like you have a choice." 

Ryou's panic vanished at the cruel taunt, replaced by a strange feeling of calm. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do. It was the only way to stop his yami and Ryou knew instinctively that he needed to be stopped. He didn't know what spell Bakura was planning on casting, but something deep inside him told him that it wouldn't turn out at all as Bakura was expecting it to. Ryou had to do it, for Bakura's sake. 

"You're wrong, Bakura. I have more than a choice. I have the power to stop you… and now I have the will to use it." As Bakura started to smirk, Ryou closed his eyes and summoned every last bit of strength and Shadow Magic he had within himself. "Bakura… return to me…"

Bakura had just opened his mouth to scoff at the idea when he sensed the Shadow Magic gathering around Ryou. At the first gentle touch of the magic as it brushed his arm, he instinctively pulled away. But the power, and Ryou's will, were relentless. Within moments Bakura found himself struggling in a grip that was incredibly strong, even though it felt as though he was being held by nothing more than a warm and gentle embrace. As the power began to pull him towards Ryou, Bakura glared at his light. "No! I won't let you stop me!" His eyes suddenly lit up and he smirked. "But since you want me within you so badly…" Ryou gasped as his yami suddenly merged with him of his own free will. 

Their souls faced each other in the mind corridor that separated their soulrooms. Ryou's surprise at Bakura's sudden appearance caused his control over the Shadow Magic to waiver, just for a moment. That moment was all Bakura needed. 

Ryou cried out as his wrist was grabbed tightly and pulled up behind his body. "Ow!" He struggled, trying desperately to call on the Shadow Magic despite the distracting pain in his wrist and arm as Bakura pushed him towards Ryou's soulroom. "Bakura! No! Please don't!" 

"But isn't this exactly what you were going to do to me?" Bakura rumbled in Ryou's ear. 

"No!" Even as Ryou answered, his yami shoved him into the room, hard enough to send him sprawling on the floor. Ryou was still getting to his feet when the door slammed shut and he felt Bakura use the Shadow Magic to seal it. It wasn't the first time it had happened so Ryou knew there was no way he could open the door. Until Bakura released him, he was trapped there.

*Bakura, I swear, if Yami doesn't kill you for this, then I will!* 

*You can't kill me. I'm already dead. Evil spirit of the Ring, remember?*

Ryou glared at the door, for a moment bearing a startling resemblance to his yami. *Physical Form spell, remember?*

*By the time you get out of there, it won't matter. I'll have everything I've ever wanted.*

Bakura cut the mind-link connection and stared down at the book in his hands. He was in control of Ryou's body, Ryou's soul was locked in his soulroom where he couldn't cause any problems and the Book of Secret Arts was in his hands. Now all he had to do was find the spell he wanted, and he knew exactly where it was. 

He'd spotted it when he'd looked through the book on Christmas Eve. He'd been trying to find something that would get Father out of the way over Christmas, but he'd made a note of this particular spell along the way. 

He eagerly turned the pages until he found it, near the back of the book. As he looked over the spell, he smirked. Although it was written in English and the writing was small, cramped, almost illegible and looked like it had been written with three different pens, all in different colours and all badly leaking, it didn't trouble Bakura. "Heh. Tough luck, you cursed magician. You're not going to catch me out this time! I've read this awful writing of yours so much now that I can actually understand it! This time, I'm going to cast this spell and it's going to do exactly what I want and get me exactly what I'm after!" Throwing back his head, Bakura began to laugh. 

Bakura's evil laughter echoed through the mind-link. Ryou lifted his head and listened for a moment, frowning slightly. An icy trickle of unease ran down his back. Bakura wasn't really going to cast the spell… was he?

* * *

Bakura stood in the middle of the kitchen with a knife in his hand and the Book of Secret Arts lying on the table in front of him so he could read the spell. He spoke the words with an intensity born from his anger against Ryou, and his determination that this spell would not fail him. 

"Power of the water, power of the wind,  
Power of the fire, power of the vine,  
Power of the earth, power of the shadows,  
The world's greatest treasures shall be mine!

Everything I've ever wished for,  
My soul's hopes, my heart's desires,   
My deepest dreams shall now come true,  
Burning as bright as the strongest fires.

I call on the Magic to grant my wish.  
I call to the Shadows to open my heart.  
Look within to see my yearning,  
As the blood flows, let the magic start!"

On the final word, Bakura slashed the blade across his palm. 

As he had spoken the words of the ancient spell, outside, the sky had grown dark. Now a mighty rumbling came from the heavens, the roar loud enough to cause the whole room to tremble. Bakura felt it, just as he felt the power rising within him. The Shadow Magic gathered around him, causing his clothes to flutter and his long silvery-white hair to whip around his face and neck. He ignored the stinging strands and threw back his head, laughing as the blood began to drip from his hand to the floor.

In his soulroom, Ryou cried out as a searing pain blazed across his hand. He stared down in shock, unable to believe his eyes as a long gash appeared across his palm. As it began to bleed, pain like nothing Ryou had ever felt before raced through him. He fell silently to the floor, the pain so intense that it stole his voice before he could cry out. Even his mental scream was abruptly cut off as the pain became too much for his soul to bear. The cry rang out through the mind-link, but remained unanswered. 

*Bakura!*

In the physical world, the intense pain that suddenly filled him, body and soul, cut off Bakura's laughter. He gasped, his back arching as agony tore through the fragile human form he was in. As the world before his eyes began to fade, a single rational thought raced through it. His first rational thought for most of that afternoon. 

*What have I done?* 

Bakura's body was engulfed in a brilliant burst of white and gold light that quickly expanded to fill the whole room. It faded as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the room as it had been… and a white-haired boy lying motionless on the floor, a bloody dagger clutched in his outstretched hand.

To be continued…


	24. What Matters Most

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi. The song "Angel Eyes" was written by Jonas Berggren (music) and Billy Steinberg (lyrics) and performed by Ace of Base.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I received a wonderful response to the last chapter. Thank you to all who reviewed! ^_^ I normally dislike adding too many notes, since I know you're here for the story, not my rambling, but some of you have taken the time to ask me things or comment on things and I thought that it wouldn't be fair of me not to make some attempt at replying, so I hope that you'll forgive me for not getting straight into it.

Bakura's behaviour: This story is set several months after Battle City, at a time when Bakura and Ryou are still unsure about each other and about their ability to co-exist as two souls in the one body. Basically, Bakura is on his best behaviour ^_^ I've always tried to keep him as in-character as possible though, considering the unusual and new situations that he's found himself in. At least, that's my intention. How well I've done with it, I'll leave for you to decide ^_^

My thanks: I'm really honoured that my stories make such an impression on some of you. Having someone come up with theories about one of my stories, or someone taking the time to let me know of a mistake, or someone commenting on something that they particularly liked or hated, or someone chasing after me with a sword, or demanding that I continue the story... these are some of the highest compliments I can think of receiving, and I am very grateful to everyone for them. I'm also grateful to everyone who's reviewed with even a word or two, since I know that means that you liked what I wrote enough to bother reviewing. That thrills me and makes me a very happy authoress ^_^

My evil side: No, I don't cackle... it's more of a low sinister chuckle combined with an evil grin and eerie background music... I also don't like extreme cliffhangers as a rule, and will generally do them only if the next chapter is already halfway done. Although I must admit, they do make for some good reviews -_^ Hmm... I wonder what sort of result a character death would have... ::evil grin::

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 24: What Matters Most  
By Shadow's Mirror

The white-haired figure lying on the kitchen floor stirred, a soft groan escaping him as his body protested at the movement. His eyes opened. The brown orbs blinked in disoriented confusion for a moment before he recognised his surroundings. Then he remembered what had happened. 

"Bakura!" 

Ryou sat up, moving slowly at first in anticipation of the pain that he knew he'd feel. He was startled when he felt nothing more than a slight overall ache. The kind that was to be expected when you had just been lying unconscious on the floor. He should have been in pain. His body had been badly injured in a fight earlier that afternoon. On top of that, the spell that his yami had cast had been a particularly painful experience. 

As thoughts of his yami and the spell raced through his mind, Ryou realised two things. He was holding a knife with blood on the blade and he couldn't sense his yami at all. Their mind-link had been severed! 

"Bakura! Where are you?" Ryou's anxious call went unanswered and he suddenly had a feeling that something was terribly wrong. 

He scrambled to his feet, wincing slightly at the odd tenderness in his left palm as he pushed himself up off the floor. When he looked, he was surprised to see a thin red line running across his palm, like a cut that was newly healed. Remembering the gash that had appeared there while he had been locked in his soulroom, Ryou realised that the wound had been real. It also explained the knife, and the blood. But the wound seemed to have healed. In fact, all of his injuries were now gone, as if they'd never existed. Only the line on his palm remained, and even it was rapidly fading. 

Mentally adding it to his list of things to look up about the spell as soon as he got the chance, Ryou didn't waste time in wondering about it. He was far more concerned with finding his yami.

He was barely on his feet before the Millennium Ring hanging around his neck began to grow warm and the points dangling from it stirred. When they lifted up and pointed outside, Ryou didn't hesitate to follow the Ring's lead. This had happened before and he knew that the Ring would guide him directly to Bakura. 

* * *

As he ran down the street, Ryou's uneasiness began to grow. By the time he reached the park, he was terrified. He had a stitch in his side from running, but he didn't dare stop. Every instinct within his body, heart, mind and soul was screaming at him to find Bakura. His yami was in trouble. Ryou could feel it. 

The Ring pointed Ryou to the duck pond, where the ducks were all looking rather more agitated than usual. As Ryou hurried towards them, they squawked angrily and tried to chase him off, but Ryou barely noticed them. All of his attention was focused on the brief flashes of white that he kept glimpsing through the reeds around the edge of the pond. It couldn't be Bakura in his usual form though, since he would have been clearly visible above the reeds, even sitting down in the pond. 

Suddenly fearful that his yami had somehow managed to turn himself into a kitten and then been chased into the pond, Ryou raced to the bank. It wasn't as farfetched a theory as it seemed. Both of those things had happened to Bakura within the past few months, although not at the same time. But Ryou wasn't willing to discount any possibilities at that point. 

Ryou couldn't see anything at first, but he did hear a faint cry and soft splash, like the sounds of a little yami-kitten struggling to stay above the water! The Ring's pointers shifted slightly to point to the side and down and Ryou quickly reached into the thick mass of reeds where they indicated. As his hands parted the reeds, he saw a small patch of white. 

With a gasp of relief, Ryou plucked the little figure out of the murky, but fortunately shallow, water and held it up in front of him. His relief immediately turned to shock as he got his first good look at what he had rescued.

A pair of frightened brown eyes stared at him, looking impossibly large in the small face. Ryou stared back, completely stunned. He knew it was his yami. Even without the telltale unruly mop of white hair and the liquid-chocolate brown eyes, he would have known his yami anywhere. But he hadn't been expecting to ever see him quite like this. 

Bakura wasn't a kitten. He was a chibi. A very small, incredibly cute, completely adorable, totally irresistible, utterly helpless and extremely scared chibi of somewhere around one year of age, by Ryou's very inexperienced estimation. He was also completely naked and shivering with cold from having been in the icy water of the pond. 

Ryou snapped back to his senses as soon as his mind processed that fact. Silently thanking Ra that he was still wearing his school uniform, he quickly unbuttoned his jacket and tucked the shivering chibi inside, where it was nice and warm. Holding his precious passenger close, Ryou carefully stood up and then headed for home as fast he could.

* * *

"You know Bakura, this is getting to be a habit." Ryou spoke softly as he got everything ready, trying to reassure the child with the tone of his voice even as he tried to reassure himself by making the small joke. 

Ryou made sure that the water in the sink was nice and warm, but not too hot, before he gently lifted the little shivering chibi in. He held the tiny child the same way he'd held Bakura-kitten, supporting the slight weight with one hand underneath Bakura-chibi's little stomach as he gently washed the mud and grime off. 

The chibi whimpered softly and clung to Ryou's arm, apparently unsure of what was going on. For the most part, he kept his wide-eyed gaze on the water, but every now and then he'd dart an anxious glance up at Ryou. Every time he did, the half-confused and half-fearful look in those big brown eyes broke the boy's heart. 

Bakura-chibi didn't recognise him.

Ryou had begun to suspect it on the way home, when he'd first noticed how frightened the little chibi seemed to be, and how he curled himself up into a tight little ball and stayed tense and silent throughout the whole trip. At the time, Ryou had refused to believe that his yami could possibly not remember him and put it down to shock at what had happened, but as he washed the chibi's hair and heard the soft, scared, whimpers, he couldn't deny the truth any longer. 

The spell hadn't just altered his yami's form; it had apparently altered his mind as well. The chibi was definitely Bakura, but his mind was apparently now that of a very young child, rather than a several-millennium years old ex-tombrobbing yami! Ryou tried to tell himself that the chibi was just too young to respond to him at all, but he knew in his heart that wasn't true. If Bakura-chibi had recognised Ryou at all, if he'd felt even the slightest bond with him, he wouldn't have been so obviously terrified. 

Ryou didn't know what to do, so he did the only thing he could think of. He treated the scared chibi with the same gentle care he had shown to Bakura when he had been a scared kitten. In fact, as he held the child up over the water to drain for a moment before toweling him dry, it struck Ryou that there really wasn't all that much difference between the two forms so far, except in size. When he bundled the chibi up into a towel and saw the way the little face peered up at him with wide, startled eyes, he even managed a slight chuckle. Bakura-kitten had looked at him with the same expression under the same circumstances!

"All right Bakura, time to get you warm and dry again. If you're anything like you were as a kitten, I think you'll enjoy this part." Ryou smiled as he paused to pick up the hairdryer before carrying his yami into the bedroom. 

Bakura-chibi did like having his hair dried as much as Bakura-kitten, but there were a couple of differences and they made Ryou very worried. 

As a kitten, Bakura had been content to lie across his light's lap while his fur was dried and he had enjoyed Ryou brushing his fur afterwards. But as a chibi… although he seemed to like the hairdryer blowing warm air at him, he struggled weakly when Ryou put him across his lap and didn't relax until Ryou thought to lie him on the bed instead. He lay quietly on his stomach as Ryou blow-dried his hair, but when Ryou picked up the hairbrush he began to whimper. Ryou blinked and put the brush down again, noting how the little chibi immediately stopped whimpering, although his wide eyes remained on the brush. He whimpered softly every time Ryou picked up the brush until finally Ryou gave in. "All right, we'll just dry your hair for now. We'll see about brushing it later on."

By the time Bakura-chibi's hair was completely dry, Ryou was very near tears. He couldn't bear to see his yami so afraid of him, but it was the child's unwillingness to be touched that really broke the gentle light's heart. He didn't know what his yami's childhood had been like back in Ancient Egypt, but the way Bakura-chibi was acting made Ryou suspect that things had not been good. 

He slowly put the hairdryer aside and then just sat there for a long moment, gazing at his yami as the small child looked back at him fearfully. Finally, Ryou couldn't stand it any longer. His yami was afraid and Ryou desperately wanted to comfort him. He just needed to work out a way to do it! 

Ryou had unwrapped Bakura-chibi from the towel before drying his hair, but he'd left it draped over him so the child didn't catch a chill. That gave Ryou an idea. 

He slipped off the bed and went to his dresser, retrieving one of his older pajama tops. The light blue top had been too small for him for several months, but he'd kept it since it had been one of his favourites. It was just what he needed now, since it had been washed so many times that it was nice and soft. Perfect to warm and comfort a frightened yami-chibi with! Best of all, Ryou knew that Bakura liked it. He'd once woken up to find his yami smiling slightly as he stroked the material. Of course, the smile could have been because Ryou had been wearing it at the time… Ryou blushed slightly at the memory and quickly focused on what he was doing. 

The chibi tensed as Ryou removed the towel. When the boy gently lifted him onto his lap, Bakura-chibi whimpered and looked so scared that Ryou almost put him back down again. Taking a deep breath, Ryou slipped the pajama top over his small yami's head. The top swamped him and Ryou couldn't help but chuckle softly at his look of surprise as he studied the strange garment he'd been put into. "It's a little big, I know, but it will have to do. I'm afraid I don't have anything smaller." 

Then something very strange happened. 

The Millennium Ring and the top both began to glow. Ryou gasped and Bakura-chibi whimpered as the pajama top slowly began to shrink. As it became smaller, it changed. By the time it stopped glowing, the pajama top had become a light blue set of footed pajamas that fitted Bakura-chibi perfectly from his neck to his little feet. 

Ryou blinked and stared in shock at the little figure on his lap. Bakura-chibi looked down at himself and was too surprised to whimper, letting out a soft squeak instead. 

"I guess the spell you cast must have had some other part to it. Perhaps to make sure that I'd be able to look after you or something." As soon as he spoke, Ryou could have kicked himself. The chibi had been distracted from his fear, but the sound of Ryou's voice had made him tense up again. 

As Bakura-chibi looked up with those big, frightened eyes of his, Ryou sighed softly. "I know you don't like me touching you, but I need to in order to look after you. That means that you need to know that there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to hurt you, Bakura. I promise."

Moving very slowly, Ryou carefully lifted his yami-chibi and settled him against his chest with one arm holding him as lightly as possible. Leaning back against his pillows, he began to hum as he gently rubbed the tense child's back, trying to calm him. It took Ryou a moment to realise that he was humming a song that he knew Bakura liked. 

Memories flooded through his mind. He and Yugi had surprised their yamis with songs during the school's annual Talent Show. Had that really only been a week ago? It seemed like longer. Ryou could feel the tears starting to build and he tried desperately to think of something else. He didn't want to upset the child in his arms and Bakura had never liked tears. Ryou had a feeling that Bakura-chibi wouldn't like them either. The only thing he could think of though was the song. 

Ryou closed his eyes and relaxed as he focused on the words. It worked. Instead of crying, he let out a soft chuckle as he thought of something. "You know Bakura, it's a good thing that you don't know the lyrics to any of the songs that I play for you on the piano." A sweetly sad smile flickered across the boy's face. "If you ever found out… well… at the least, I'd find it very difficult to explain why I play them for you so often!" Smiling, he closed his eyes again, his hand gently soothing the gradually-relaxing chibi as he began to sing softly. 

"Angel eyes, with your angel eyes,  
Will you always be there to hold me?  
Angel eyes, I am satisfied.  
I don't want to hear your story.  
'Cause I can see the things  
I really want to see,  
In your eyes."

* * *

A little over two hours later, Ryou started to sit up. The small chibi snuggling against his chest blinked and looked up with wide eyes, but they were more curious than fearful. Ryou's gentleness had finally managed to earn the little chibi's trust. He'd even been able to brush the child's hair! 

True, it had taken him almost an hour to get the chibi relaxed enough not to whimper at the touch of the brush, and another half hour to actually brush the soft, fine strands (including pauses at every few brushstrokes for reassuring cuddles), but at least it was done!

Ryou smiled down at his chibi-yami. "It's all right Bakura, I'm just getting up. As much as I'd like to stay here holding you, it's dinnertime. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Oh… oh my… that's a thought. What do babies eat?" He bit his lip, suddenly worried. He'd been so concerned with calming the overly-anxious chibi that he had completely forgotten about anything else, like food and diapers. "I'll have to go to the shop. Luckily the convenience store is open until late. But I'm not sure what you'll need." He headed downstairs to the kitchen, talking to his yami all the way. 

"I've never looked after a baby before. I'm worried. What if I do something wrong? I'd never hurt you deliberately, but you're so small, so fragile… Oh Bakura…" Ryou paused at the bottom of the stairs and hugged his chibi-yami gently, brushing his cheek against the top of the tousled head for a moment before continuing towards the kitchen. "Maybe I should call Téa… I know she's done some baby-sitting… although I'm not sure if they were actual babies… they might have been older… which would mean that she wouldn't know any more than I do about taking care of you… Oh dear… Well, I guess I'll just have to call her and find out. You need to eat and I have no idea what to feed you. You must be so hungry by now… I didn't think… oh, my poor little yami…" Ryou was very distressed as he entered the kitchen. Then he saw it. "What in the world…?"

There was a baby's bottle sitting on the kitchen counter. A full baby's bottle. With a large tin of what looked like baby formula sitting beside it. Ryou blinked. As he got closer, he could sense the Shadow Magic surrounding the bottle and tin. The fact that the tin had a large label bearing the image of Nemuriko and the words 'Shadow Realm Chibi Formula' confirmed his suspicions about its origins. "This is like the sleepsuit earlier… That settles it, there must have been something in the spell that you cast to make sure that you're cared for properly!" Ryou breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled at his chibi-yami and showed him the bottle. "Dinner time, Bakura!" 

Bakura-chibi looked curiously at the bottle but refused to open his mouth. "Oh dear…" Ryou gently tried to push the bottle's soft rubbery tip into the chibi's mouth, but Bakura-chibi just whimpered and looked at him with big 'why are you doing this to me' eyes that made Ryou feel like he'd done something awful. He hugged the small child to him and tried to think through the problem logically. "Maybe…"

Ryou tried everything he could think of. He looked sad. The chibi just blinked at him. He pleaded. The chibi just blinked at him. He pretended to drink some himself. The chibi just blinked at him and gave him what Ryou was sure was a 'do you really think I'm going to fall for that?' look. He tried making airplane noises. The chibi didn't blink. Instead he whimpered and became so scared that it took Ryou five minutes of cuddling to settle him down again. He tried a couple of times to get the chibi to open his mouth, but each time Bakura-chibi ended up getting his way. 

"This isn't going well. There has to be some way to get you to drink. I'm sure you'd drink it if you knew what it… was… hmm…" Ryou blinked down at the bottle. "I wonder…" 

He carefully squirted a little onto one finger and touched it gently to Bakura-chibi's mouth, so the child could taste it. The chibi blinked and seemed to be considering the taste for a moment before a surprised look appeared on the little face and his big brown eyes locked on the bottle in Ryou's hand. "I guess that worked. Here you are, Bakura." 

Ryou chuckled as Bakura-chibi eagerly began to drink. He sat down at the kitchen table; the child nestled in the crook of his arm while he held the bottle in his other hand. The boy gazed down at his chibi-yami in fascination, taking in everything about him from the intent look on his tiny face as he drank to the way his little hands grasped the bottle as if he wasn't planning on ever letting go. It reminded Ryou rather strongly of the way in which Bakura usually held the Millennium Ring.

Bakura-chibi's eyes began to look sleepy just as he finished his bottle. He didn't make a sound as Ryou carefully shifted him so he was leaning against Ryou's chest again. When Ryou gently patted his back though, the resulting burp made both of them blink in surprise. 

"Well excuse you!" Ryou couldn't keep from laughing, although he did manage to keep it down to a reasonable chuckle rather than the full-strength guffaw that he suddenly felt like having. It wasn't really that funny, it was just so… normal… Considering everything that had happened, it felt good to know that not everything in the world had turned inside-out and upside-down. 

"My yami's turned himself into a chibi, but all is right with the world because he can still burp. Oh my… it has definitely been one of those days…" 

Still chuckling, Ryou gave his chibi-yami a gentle hug and started rubbing his back again. As the child snuggled up against his chest and gave a little yawn, Ryou knew there was another reason for his sudden light-heartedness. He smiled gently down at the half-asleep chibi in his arms.

"You know Bakura, you may be a chibi but… it's not all bad news. Right now, you're safe, you're not afraid anymore and, most of all, you're here… with me. That's what really matters." 

In Ryou's arms, the small chibi gave a contented sigh before slipping off to sleep.

To be continued…


	25. Four Kinds of Trouble

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I know it's an odd title. I'll explain it at the end of the story, rather than here, so it doesn't spoil anything ^_^

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 25: Four Kinds of Trouble  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou moved quietly around the kitchen, making himself a grilled cheese sandwich for his dinner and being very careful not to make any sudden movements that would wake the chibi sleeping with his little head against Ryou's chest. The whole time, Ryou tried to keep his eyes from straying to the kitchen table and the old book lying open there. Although he knew that he'd have to look in it eventually, he really wasn't looking forward to it and was trying to put it off for as long as possible. 

Once his dinner was ready, he hesitated. Ryou's heart was torn between looking at the book and ignoring it… at least while he ate his dinner. His grumbling stomach made the decision an easy one. He'd surely end up forgetting all about eating if he tried to study the book over dinner and he really needed to eat something before he made himself ill. Knowing that he'd end up looking at the book anyway if he stayed in the kitchen, Ryou took his sandwich and sleeping chibi-yami into the livingroom. His thoughts kept straying to the book. Desperate to find something to distract him, even for only a little while, Ryou turned on the TV.

He ate his dinner calmly through two news stories before a photo of Bandit Keith appearing on the screen caught his attention. Ryou listened with growing interest to the newsreader. 

"Duelists around the world were stunned today when the Official Duel Monsters League announced the suspension of one of Duel Monsters' top rated players from all official tournaments, competitions and championships. The League has cited several charges of cheating and unfair play against Bandit Keith; the current American Duel Monsters Champion. Bandit Keith was not available for comment."

Ryou blinked and then smiled slightly. "Well, it's about time someone caught him at his underhanded tricks. Joey will be very pleased about this." 

His friend had faced Bandit Keith during the Duelist Kingdom competition. Despite Keith's cheating, Joey had managed to defeat him in the end. Keith had also come up against Yugi at one point, although he'd been under Marik's mind control at the time. He'd cheated in that duel too. Bakura had seen it. He'd been watching the duel with great interest as he tried to work out who was manipulating Keith, and which Millennium Item was being used to do it. The mind control had left Keith in a pretty bad way. None of them had heard much about him since then. 

On the TV, the newsreader was still talking. "This suspension will be incredible luck for one young duelist though. Bandit Keith had already gained entry into the upcoming Tokyo Duel Monsters Tournament. With his suspension coming into effect immediately, this means that his position in the Tournament will now go to the next in line. In this case, that's a talented young man who's been taking the dueling world by storm over the past few weeks. Yes folks, although it's bad news for Bandit Keith, this suspension will give Evien Sanders entry into the prestigious Tokyo event!" 

"My, that is lucky." Ryou glanced up from his sandwich in time to see the photo that had flashed onto the screen. He froze, his startled eyes locked on the image. 

The young man pictured wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He had shoulder-length blonde hair and grey eyes and the kind of face that you could look at and forget within a few minutes. Even his black jeans, tee shirt and jacket were nothing unusual. The most striking thing about him was his smile. An icy chill ran down Ryou's spine as he looked at it. He knew immediately that this duelist was cruel, calculating, devious and deceptive. It was all there in the evil twist of his thin lips. 

The image switched to the subject of the next story and Ryou blinked at the sudden interruption. He was more than a little disturbed at how intense his reaction had been to a single photograph. Ryou wasn't sure if it was paranoia or premonition, but he had the strongest feeling that the duelist in the photo was going to be trouble. 

* * *

After that unpleasant incident, Ryou really wasn't in the mood to look at the spellbook, so he took his time over finishing his sandwich. All too soon though, he was done. He stared at the plate for a moment, trying to talk himself into moving, so was very relieved when Bakura-chibi stirred. It gave him an excuse not to study the spellbook. 

Ryou smiled down at his chibi-yami as the child blinked sleepily, but his smile faded to a concerned frown when the little boy suddenly squirmed and his wide eyes filled with distress. "Bakura? Is something wrong?"

The chibi whimpered unhappily and squirmed again, clearly very uncomfortable. Worried, Ryou tried to calm him down with a gentle hug and back rub, but the child simply ignored his efforts. "Maybe you're hungry again… How often do chibis need to eat?"

Ryou carried his chibi-yami into the kitchen… and froze in the doorway, blinking in surprise at the large package sitting on the kitchen table. It definitely hadn't been there earlier. He sighed in relief. "I guess this will tell me what's wrong with you. It looks like the spell has conjured up something to help with whatever the problem is!" 

He took a closer look at the package, noting with amusement the picture of a clearly uncomfortable D Human gingerly holding what looked like one of the cherubs from the Chorus of Sanctuary. Beside that was the product name. 

"Shadow Realm Diapers…" Ryou turned very pale. "Oh dear…"

For a moment he simply stood there, staring at the package as though it was something incredibly dangerous, like a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon or Malik when he'd had too much sugar. Then the chibi squirmed and whimpered in his arms and Ryou snapped out of his stunned daze. He gently hugged the distressed child. "It's all right Bakura. Don't worry, I'll look after you." He faced the package; his face set in a determined frown. "It's only a diaper. I've faced worse on the dueling field. How hard can this be?" 

* * *

Ryou approached the situation with his usual methodical care. First, he gathered the things he needed, then he laid them out on the kitchen table. The towel went down first, with the powder and diapers within easy reach. Then Ryou lifted his unhappy chibi-yami onto the towel and started to unbutton his sleepsuit. "I wonder why they don't make these so you can change a diaper without having to take it off completely?" 

Bakura-chibi didn't seem to like having his sleepsuit taken off. He looked up at Ryou with such big, sad eyes that the boy had to restrain himself from pausing to cuddle him in reassurance. "I promise you'll be dressed again before you know it. I just have to get this thing off you…" Ryou trailed off, blinking at the diaper. 

"Now how do I…? Oh, I see, it has clips. So I just unsnap these and… it's still in place. Oh dear… There must be something else that I need to… Is that Velcro? Yes. So if I undo that… it's still in place. Um… oh there's a safety pin! I'll undo that and… I don't believe this." Ryou frowned down at the diaper, which was still in place. "This is getting ridiculous. Now what? It's undone along both sides… Ah, I see, there's a tie at the top!" Ryou beamed at his chibi-yami in triumph as the diaper finally came undone. "There! Now what comes next…?"

Ryou had a vague memory of a baby-changing scene from a movie that he'd once seen. He was pretty sure that the baby had been powdered before the new diaper was put on. Turning away from Bakura-chibi for a moment, Ryou reached for the powder. When he turned back, he blinked. "Bakura! Get back here! I haven't finished yet!" 

The little chibi had apparently decided that he'd been lying still for long enough and had decided to do something about it. Unable to crawl, he'd done the next best thing and rolled himself into the middle of the table. Lying on his back again, the little chibi wriggled slightly and looked over at Ryou with what was definitely a chibi version of Bakura's smug smile.

Ryou sighed. "If there had been any doubt in my mind that you're my yami, this would definitely have settled the matter." He studied the situation for a moment. Even if he leaned over, he'd barely be able to reach and he might end up hurting Bakura-chibi if he tried to pull him back. On the other hand though, it was a cold night and the chibi was lying naked on a cold table. He was already starting to shiver. There was only one thing to do…

Turning around, Ryou hoisted himself up onto the table, then turned and edged close enough so he could lift his chibi-yami up safely. Holding the small child against his chest, Ryou slid off the table again. He was smiling slightly. Bakura-chibi had snuggled against him as soon as he had picked him up. There had been no hesitation in the small child at all. That made Ryou very happy.

"All right. Let's try this again, shall we?" Ryou put the chibi down on the towel again and eyed him sternly. "And this time… no rolling away!" Just to be sure, Ryou kept one hand on the child's chest as he retrieved the powder. 

The chibi lay quietly, his wide eyes watching Ryou curiously as the boy shook the powder container over him. The powder refused to come out so Ryou opened the top a little wider and tried again. The resulting cloud made both boys cough.

"Oh dear…" Ryou scooped his chibi-yami up and carried him out of the cloud, leaving a trail of powder behind. He gently rubbed the coughing child's back until Bakura-chibi could catch his breath. "Well… at least some of the powder got on you too. Now for the new diaper… I think the powder's settled enough now."

It should have been easy. All Ryou had to do was do the same things that he'd done to get the previous diaper off, only in reverse order. It would have been easy… except… 

"Ouch!" Ryou winced as Bakura-chibi kicked his arm for the third time. The chibi was obviously happy and looking more lively than he had since Ryou had found him in the duck pond. He was lying on his back, wriggling, kicking his little legs and waving his little arms. Unfortunately, his movements were causing Ryou considerable trouble with doing up the new diaper. 

Every time Ryou tried to do up one of the pins, Bakura-chibi would move and the pin would end up jabbing into Ryou's finger. When Ryou tried to do up the Velcro tabs, the chibi's legs kept kicking him in the arm, and the child's squirming made it very difficult to get the tabs properly aligned so they worked right. When he tried to do up the top ties, it was Bakura-chibi's arms that kept getting in the way. As for the snaps, Ryou would no sooner get one done than the chibi's wriggling would undo it again! By the time he finally finished, Ryou was hot and flustered. "Whoever makes these things really needs to include some instructions… and something to distract a chibi with."

Getting his chibi-yami back into his sleepsuit was just as difficult. The child kept squirming so much that Ryou could barely get his little legs into the pajamas, let alone the rest of the little wriggling chibi. Still, as he finished with the last button, Ryou had to admit to himself that he really didn't mind. A wriggling chibi was a happy chibi, and that was exactly what Ryou wanted. 

"Oh, so you think all that was funny, do you?" He chuckled as Bakura-chibi kicked his little feet happily. "From your perspective perhaps, but I just hope I don't have to go through all that every single time!" Picking up his chibi-yami, he cradled him against his chest with one arm as he started clearing up the mess. The little child immediately snuggled happily into him, making Ryou smile.

* * *

By the time Ryou had cleared up, Bakura-chibi was sound asleep and Ryou had run out of excuses. It was time for him to look at the Book of Secret Arts and find out exactly what his yami had done to himself… this time. He sighed as he settled down at the table, his chibi-yami snuggling into his chest even as he slept. Ryou began to read.

The boy was frowning by the time he'd finished reading through the spell and its description. After a moment's thought, he started to read through the spell again, this time going over each part as carefully as if he was looking for a needle in a haystack. But even after going through it a second time, Ryou was still very confused. 

There didn't seem to be anything in the spell to explain why his yami was now a chibi-yami! 

For a moment, Ryou considered the possibility that Bakura had cast a different spell, but he knew in his heart that it was the right one. Not only had the book been open at the page, but Bakura's last words to him, before he'd locked Ryou in his soulroom, had hinted at what the spell would do. No, this was definitely the right spell. But it had apparently had a very wrong effect on Bakura!

The spell was titled 'To Gain the Greatest Treasures in the World'. That alone was enough to convince Ryou that it was the spell that his angry yami had been intending to cast. It seemed like a fairly simple spell, although the title was actually a little misleading. The Shadow Magic didn't automatically give the spellcaster the world's greatest treasures. It merely read his heart to determine his three strongest desires, then it manipulated whatever it needed to in order for those dreams to come true. Once they did, the spell restored everything to normal, except that the spellcaster kept whatever he had gained. So what the spell actually did depended entirely on what the spellcaster desired. 

That worried Ryou. He knew his yami and he knew that Bakura had been in a very bad mood when he'd cast the spell. Of all the possible things that could have been in his heart at the time, most of them were too chaotic to even think about! But… the form that the spell had taken seemed to imply that Bakura's heart had been focused on something else. Something that Ryou couldn't even guess at. He looked down at his sleeping chibi-yami in confusion. "Bakura… what could you possibly have wanted so badly that you could only gain as a chibi?" 

Ryou looked over the spell one last time. There was something troubling him about it, but he couldn't quite work out what it was. He sighed heavily and closed the book, after marking his place just in case he needed to find the spell again in a hurry. "I'll have another look at it tomorrow. Right now…" He interrupted himself by yawning. "Bedtime." 

As Ryou stood up though, Bakura-chibi stirred. He began an all-too-familiar squirming and whimpering routine. Ryou groaned. "Oh no… not again… Well this time, I'm changing you in the bathroom where you can't roll out of reach!" 

* * *

While Ryou was changing his chibi-yami, on the other side of town another light was also trying to change his yami. His yami's mind, anyway. 

"No, Yami, I really don't think I should call Ryou tonight. It's far too late and chances are, it would only upset him. I'm sure it would upset Bakura. I'll talk to Ryou tomorrow at school, I promise! Besides, I'm sure that they're both fine. They'll have talked it all out by now." Yugi smiled up at his worried yami reassuringly, but the spirit's answering smile was very slight. 

"I wish I had your confidence, Yugi. Bakura was furious this afternoon. I have not seen him that enraged for a very long time. What he did to you…" Yami's fists clenched and he stood up from where he'd been perched on the corner of Yugi's desk and began pacing back and forth across the room with quick, angry strides. 

Yugi jumped up and moved to block his yami's path, forcing the spirit to stop. "Yami! I'm okay! Really! We've been over this already. Bakura didn't hurt me! He just sealed me and he wouldn't have done it if he hadn't been angry. You heard Joey and Tristan when they were here earlier. It's no wonder he was upset. Even you admitted that your comments hadn't been fair, and that they'd only made a bad situation even worse."

Yami sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes… but even so… it does not lessen my concern for Ryou. You know Bakura. You know what he is capable of." 

"Was. What Bakura **was** capable of. He's changed, Yami. Oh, I know he's still basically the same, but his goals have changed. He's not after the Millennium Items now and as for power… He's seen what it can do, and the cost that people pay for it. He's paid that cost too, and I really don't think he wants to ever pay it again. Now, he's just trying to sort himself out. He's been after the Items for so long, he's forgotten what it's like to just… live. He's still adjusting to everything that's happened and he's still getting used to his new life with Ryou. Everything's changed now."

"I know. But he is still a yami and he still has access to a great deal of power. Even if he did not do it deliberately, even if he did not truly mean to do it, he could still…" Yami trailed off, not wishing to paint too graphic a picture for his innocent light. As always though, Yugi knew exactly what he meant. The boy smiled slightly.

"Ryou told me he knows that Bakura wouldn't hurt him. I don't know if I would believe Bakura if he said that, but I believe Ryou. He trusts Bakura. We need to accept that. Even if we can't trust Bakura too, we can at least trust Ryou's judgment. He wouldn't stay with Bakura if he thought he was in danger." 

Yami thought about that for a moment before finally nodding. The motion seemed to be the signal for his tension to ease and he released a deep sigh as he dropped down onto the bed. "Very well, Yugi. Talk with Ryou tomorrow. And perhaps…" He sighed again. "I owe him an apology. I should not have jumped to conclusions as I did." 

Yugi smiled. "I'll ask Ryou if he thinks it would help. If Bakura's already gotten over it…"

"True, it might be better just to forget it all happened." Yami was silent for a moment before he added, "But if he has hurt Ryou… in any way…"

Yugi nodded. "Then you won't be the only one to take action. I'll be right behind you." 

Yami smiled at his determined light. "We'll decide tomorrow, as soon as we've talked to Ryou." 

* * *

It was getting late, but Ryou couldn't sleep. His chibi-yami was curled up beside him, sleeping soundly and making the cutest little snoring sound every now and then. Ryou couldn't take his eyes off the child. He was extremely worried. As he'd been getting ready for bed he'd suddenly realised what it was about the spell that had been bothering him. 

He'd been wondering what to do about school the following day, if his yami was still a chibi. He didn't really have a choice. There was no way he could leave the child alone, and taking him to school was out of the question too. Luckily, he stayed home from school so rarely that the school would believe him if he said that he was ill. But… it would only work for a day or two. After that, he'd need to find a baby-sitter. Then it had hit him.

With all the other spells he and Bakura had used so far, they had been for a specific amount of time or until a specific condition had been met. But with this one… there was nothing to indicate how long the spell would last! Ryou had raced to the book and looked up the spell. He'd read it through twice before one passage had struck him. It didn't give a specific timeframe, but there was a condition. The spell would last until Bakura-chibi gained what he had wished for. 

Without knowing what his yami had desired most at the time he had cast the spell, there was nothing Ryou could do except wait, look after his chibi-yami and hope that the spell worked and his yami's wishes came true, so he would change back. That could happen at any time. It could be that night, or the following day, or sometime next week…

Or Bakura might remain a chibi… forever…

To be continued…

TITLE EXPLANATION: Four Kinds of Trouble

Trouble 1: Evien Sanders  
Trouble 2: Diaper Duty  
Trouble 3: The Spell (and it's possible consequences)  
Trouble 4: Yugi and Yami (How will they react if Ryou isn't at school the next day?)


	26. Discovery

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: *Text* indicates thoughts or a mental conversation between a light and a yami.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 26: Discovery  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou opened his eyes. For a moment he lay in a haze of sleepiness, but his mind gradually woke up enough to notice that something was missing. It was another few moments before he remembered the events of the day before, and realised what was wrong. When he'd gone to bed, he'd had a little chibi sleeping beside him. Now, the space on the other side of the bed was rumpled, but bare! Bakura-chibi was gone!

"Bakura?" Ryou sat up, instinctively searching his mind for the link to his yami. If the spell had been broken, then surely the mind-link would be back! His eyes widened, fear flooding them as he sensed nothing. "Oh no… Bakura!" Panic started to set in, but Ryou struggled against it and forced himself to listen to reason. "He's only a little chibi. Where could he go?" Ryou turned pale as he remembered how the child had rolled away from him the night before when he'd turned to get the powder while diapering him. Suddenly the edge of the bed was awfully close… 

Ryou scrambled across the bed and peered over the edge, half-afraid at what he'd find. He sighed with relief when he saw nothing but carpet. "Oh good, something else must have… huh?" The tiny noise came again and Ryou gasped. It was a soft whimper, like the sound that a very frightened child might make, and it was coming from underneath the bed!

The boy hadn't moved so fast since the day before, when he'd plucked his yami from the pond. In a flash, Ryou was down on his knees, looking under the bed. Two wide, terrified brown eyes looked back at him. "Bakura! It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you. Come out of there, please!" When the chibi just shivered and whimpered softly, Ryou tried reaching for him. He managed to catch the child around his waist but he hesitated to pull him out, fearing that he'd hurt him. Shifting until he was lying down, Ryou reached his other arm out as well. Somehow, he managed to get a good enough grasp on his chibi-yami to gently ease him out from under the bed.

Then he got the first shock of the day. 

"B…Bakura… You… You're bigger!" Ryou sat up and pulled the obviously terrified, and rather dusty, chibi onto his lap. The day before, the child had looked to be around a year old, but today he was more like two! 

Before Ryou could even begin to get over his surprise, the little chibi began to struggle. He wasn't just bigger, he was stronger too and more agile. He almost managed to wriggle off Ryou's lap before the startled boy realised what he was trying to do and caught him. Ryou held his chibi-yami close as sorrow rushed through him. 

"You don't remember yesterday at all, do you Bakura?" The chibi had been frightened of him at first then, too, but Ryou had managed to earn his trust. By bedtime, Bakura-chibi had been happy. He had also been perfectly content to snuggle against the older boy, which had made Ryou happy too. But it looked as though his sudden growth spurt had also erased the memories of the day before from the chibi's mind. Bakura-chibi was even more frightened than he had been the day before!

Ryou instinctively hugged his precious chibi-yami as he tried desperately to keep from crying. He hated seeing Bakura-chibi so frightened. "It's all right, Bakura. It's all right. I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe. I promise." 

On Ryou's lap, the little chibi grew still. He looked up; confusion warring with fear within him as he studied the big boy who was holding him so gently. He didn't understand what was going on. Where was his mama? Where was his daddy? Who was this boy? Why was this boy holding him like mama sometimes did, only better? He scrunched up his nose as he tried to make out what the boy was saying. He didn't understand all of it. He'd never heard some of the words before. But he knew a few of them and the tone of the boy's voice was reassuring… calming. He suddenly knew that the boy wouldn't hurt him.

Ryou slowly became aware of the change in the small body sitting on his lap. Bakura-chibi was no longer as tense and he had stopped wriggling. Ryou looked down and smiled shakily at the child looking up at him out of familiar brown eyes. "Bakura." His hand came up and gently stroked the child's hair. The chibi closed his eyes and sighed softly, a slight smile curving his little lips. Ryou nearly laughed in his relief. Apparently he'd done something right. 

As the chibi relaxed, Ryou took the opportunity to study him. The first thing he noticed was the child's blue, footed sleepsuit. It was the same one Bakura-chibi had been wearing the day before, only it still fitted him perfectly despite his larger size. Apparently the sleepsuit had grown with the child. That was useful, but the journey under the bed had left both sleepsuit and chibi rather dirty. 

"That outfit will need to be washed, and you could do with a bath too!" Ryou looked down at himself and smiled wryly. "So could I, for that matter. Remind me to vacuum under the bed later. But first things first. I don't know about you, Bakura, but I'm hungry. How about some breakfast?"

Lifting his chibi-yami into his arms, Ryou scrambled to his feet and headed downstairs. He paused on entering the kitchen, noticing the small jars neatly set out on the counter. They definitely hadn't been there the night before! On closer examination, Ryou chuckled. "Shadow Realm Chibi Chow. Apparently the Shadow Magic is still making sure that I can look after you. Look Bakura, food! Would you like mushy banana," Ryou held up a jar with Nemuriko on the label, "or strained carrots?" Bakura-chibi blinked at him and Ryou grinned. "Yes, I agree, banana is definitely more suited to breakfast than carrots." He eyed the label on the carrots jar. "My… Summoned Skull certainly looks unhappy holding that Chorus of Sanctuary cherub…"

* * *

Bakura-chibi didn't like the mushy banana. He absolutely loved it! By the time Ryou called the school to let them know that he was *coughcough* ill *coughcough* he had to contend with a happily wriggling chibi who kept making happy noises. Very loud happy noises. Ryou winced when the school administrator asked him if everything was okay. She sounded so concerned that he felt very guilty about lying to her. But… he didn't really have a choice. After Ryou hung up he breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Now then…" He was about to say 'bath time' when he noticed how silent Bakura-chibi had suddenly become. Looking down, he recognised the unhappy look on his chibi-yami's face. "I see some things haven't changed from yesterday. Come on Bakura, the diapers are in the bathroom. Which is convenient because that was going to be our next stop anyway."

* * *

As Ryou looked around the bathroom, he realised that he had a bit of a problem. "You're too big to be bathed in the sink like I did yesterday, and I don't want to leave you alone for the time it would take me to have a shower, either. I guess that just leaves one option." He started running the water for a bath, chuckling at the intense concentration with which Bakura-chibi studied the situation. 

When the bath was about half full, Ryou reached for the bottle of pink liquid sitting on the shelf. He paused when he noticed that Bakura-chibi was watching him closely. "Oh… that's right… you don't like having this stuff in your bath." A mischievous smile made Ryou's eyes twinkle. "What's that Bakura? You want it in there this time? Well, if you're sure!" He hugged the child as he carefully poured a little of the liquid into the bathtub. "I know you normally hate it, although I honestly can't think why. But as you are now, I think you'll like this."

The fascinated chibi peered into the water as small frothy bubbles began to appear where Ryou had added the liquid. By the time the bath was full, the water was covered in masses of bubbles in all sizes and Bakura-chibi was happily trying to catch them. Ryou laughed. "See? I knew you'd like it."

A few moments later, Ryou carefully eased himself into the bath with Bakura-chibi in his arms. "Oh… that feels good. I really should do this more often. Um… have a full bath I mean, not bath with… oh dear." A tide of red washed over his cheeks as he looked down at the chibi in his lap. "It's a good thing you're too young to remember any of this when you're back to normal… Um… I think that's enough relaxing. Time to get clean! Shampoo, soap and a washcloth…" 

As Ryou reached for the shampoo, Bakura-chibi studied the water with great interest. He reached out and touched a large bubble floating nearby, then blinked when it burst. He tried again, harder and faster this time and his hand slapped against the water. The chibi's happy giggle rang out through the bathroom, making Ryou pause in mid-reach and look down at his chibi-yami happily. It was the first time Bakura-chibi had laughed since Ryou had pulled him out of the duck pond! 

Bakura-chibi loved the bubbles. He played with them the whole time, even while Ryou was trying to get him nice and clean. As he played with the bubbles, he wriggled happily. Several times he wriggled so much that he knocked the soap out of Ryou's hands and a couple of times he almost wriggled right off the boy's lap! By the end of the bath, Ryou had a stitch in his side from laughing at his chibi-yami's antics. He was sure that Bakura-chibi was the happiest and most wriggly chibi in all of Domino City!

Unfortunately, that wriggliness did have a downside. It made Bakura-chibi very difficult to dry and diaper. By the time they left the bathroom, Ryou was exhausted and it was past nine o'clock. They'd gone into the bathroom well before eight!

Since the sleepsuit was dirty, Ryou put Bakura-chibi into one of his tee shirts. Like the day before, the top immediately changed into a form-fitting footed sleepsuit, only this one was white like the top it had been. Bakura-chibi blinked down at himself for a moment before he smiled and wriggled happily on the bed. Ryou grinned down at him as he got dressed too. 

"You like that huh? I'm just glad that it worked again. It's far too cold for you to only wear a diaper. You know what we're going to do now, Bakura? That's right, we're going to do something really fun. I am going to teach you the joys of doing laundry!" He grinned wryly at the chibi. "Hopefully you'll remember at least something when you're back to normal and you'll take the hint. Ever since you've started taking on physical form, my laundry loads have almost doubled!"

He shook his head as he picked up his chibi-yami and the dirty clothes. "Honestly Bakura, I don't know why but you seem to practically attract dirt. It really is amazing how we can both do exactly the same things and yet you're always the only one of us who gets dirty. Even just sitting on the sofa watching TV, you end up spilling something on yourself or you end up sitting in something that had no right to be there in the first place! Sometimes, I swear you do it on purpose… except that I can't think of any reason why you would. The number of times you've needed to get changed because of it… and you have no modesty either." Ryou's cheeks coloured slightly at the memories of his less-than-shy yami stripping off his dirty clothes in the middle of the kitchen or living room. 

He chuckled as he carried Bakura-chibi down the stairs. "It's not just when you're in your normal form either. You were just as bad as a kitten and from what I've seen of you as a chibi…" Ryou paused at the bottom of the stairs and hugged the little boy. "Yes, you're just as messy now. I wouldn't have you any other way though."

* * *

In the laundry, Ryou put all of the dirty clothes in the washing machine, followed by the washing powder. The whole time, he kept talking to his wriggly chibi-yami so he was more than a little distracted as he reached up into the cupboard for the detergent. He looked away and so didn't see Bakura-chibi reach out and grasp the box of washing powder where it sat on the edge of the machine. The box was too big for the chibi to hold and he lost his grasp on it. 

Bakura-chibi blinked and looked down at the box lying on top of the pile of dirty clothes.

* * *

After turning on the washing machine, Ryou carried his chibi-yami into the living room. "We'll watch some TV until the clothes are ready to hang out." Flicking on the TV, the boy sat down and settled Bakura-chibi on his lap. 

Ryou had just started to get into the movie that was on when he heard strange sounds coming from the laundry. Hurrying into the room, he was alarmed to see bubbles pouring out of the top of the washing machine! "Oh dear…" Quickly putting Bakura-chibi inside a washing basket, where he'd be safely out of the way, Ryou started sorting out the mess. 

Ten minutes later, Ryou wrung out the mop one last time and stepped back to check on his work. The room was spotless again, but he still needed to empty the washing machine and try to find out what the problem had been. "I guess I know what I'll be doing this afternoon, huh Bakura?" Ryou turned to smile at his chibi-yami. His smile froze on his face. The basket was empty!

"Bakura? Bakura! Where are you!" 

Ryou looked around anxiously, then blinked as he noticed some odd wet marks on the carpet in the doorway. When he went to the door, he was surprised to see a trail of them leading down the hall towards the kitchen. "How in the world…?" Then he realised. "Oh my… I never thought… Yesterday he was just a baby, but today he's older. Old enough to be able to…" Ryou winced and set off in pursuit of his chibi-yami. His chibi-yami who was apparently now able to crawl…

* * *

Yugi hurried along the sidewalk, paying barely enough attention on where he was to avoid being run over or knocking into anyone as he inwardly argued with his yami. *You shouldn't have done it, Yami! It wasn't right.*

*But Yugi, you are just as concerned about Ryou as I. He never stays home from school. You said it yourself when we heard he was absent today.* The spirit tried to calm his agitated light.

*I know. I am worried about him. But that doesn't make what you did right! You shouldn't have set off the school's fire alarm!* Yugi was too agitated to be calmed so easily. 

*You said that you needed a distraction so you could borrow Kaiba's cellphone and call Ryou to check on him. I was merely attempting to provide the distraction. How was I to know that your principal would panic and close the school for the day?* Yami's voice was both smug and puzzled.

*That was strange. I've never seen him so nervous before.* Yugi was just as confused. The moment the fire alarm had gone off, the principal had announced that the school was closed for the rest of the day. Just like that! The students hadn't been able to believe their luck! 

*Perhaps he was concerned that it would be a repeat of that time a few months ago,* Yami suggested. He was referring to the day when the fire alarm had gone off ten times in half an hour.

*Maybe. Hey… wait a minute…* Yugi stopped walking. In his soulroom, he stared warily at the spirit leaning against the door. *You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?*

Yami shook his head. *Of course not, Yugi. Today was the first time I have used the physical form spell at your school.* 

He smiled as his light immediately relaxed and started walking again. As always, Yami was overwhelmed by the amount of trust his light placed in him. Yugi knew that Yami would not lie to him. At least, not unless it was for a very good reason, like their safety or a surprise or something.

*Well, I guess that could explain why the principal reacted the way he did.* 

Yami looked thoughtful. *His closing the school for the day, perhaps, but it doesn't explain why he kept looking nervously over his shoulder, or his muttering something about him acting before 'the voice' showed up again.*

Yugi blinked. *Oh, is that what he said? I couldn't make it out over all the students' cheering.*

Yami chuckled and then looked distracted. *Yugi… we are there.*

Yugi blinked and returned his attention to where he was in the physical word, just in time to turn in at the right house. He walked up the side of the house to the back door, knowing that his friend usually kept the front door locked when he was home alone, but the back door was usually open. Reaching the door, Yugi knocked. "Ryou! Are you home? It's me, Yugi!" 

From somewhere inside, Yugi heard a loud thump, followed by what sounded suspiciously like a yelp of pain! "Ryou!" Worried for his friend, Yugi tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he hesitated for just a moment before letting himself in to the kitchen. "Ryou?"

A soft groan came from the other side of the room. Yugi hurried inside, forgetting in his haste to close the door behind him. Much to his surprise, he found Ryou sitting on the floor behind the kitchen counter, rubbing his head and with a pained expression on his face. "Ryou! Are you okay?"

Ryou blinked at his friend's voice and looked up. He frowned slightly. "Well… it depends. Either I've suddenly gained the ability to see Yami, he's in physical form beside you, or I'm currently seeing double." 

Yugi winced. "I'd go with the 'seeing double' theory. What happened?" He hurried to the fridge for some ice to put on Ryou's sore head.

"I was underneath the kitchen counter when you knocked. The noise startled me and I jumped… hitting my head in the process. Thank you." Ryou accepted the ice that Yugi had wrapped up in a teatowel and put it gingerly on the bump on his head, wincing as the coldness immediately pierced his senses. 

Yugi winced again, this time in guilt. "I'm really sorry, Ryou! I came to see if you were all right and I guess you were, until I got here. Um… what were you doing under the counter?" 

Ryou was about to answer when he remembered. Bakura didn't want anyone to know that he was using the Book of Secret Arts! "Oh… um… I was…" 

Before he could think up a suitable lie, he heard a sound that put all other thoughts out of his mind. It was a fast-paced, soft thudding sound. The kind of sound that a crawling chibi makes when he's moving rapidly across the floor. Ryou shakily pulled himself to his feet and leaned on the counter for support as he looked around for the source. His eyes widened in shock. The back door was standing wide open and Bakura-chibi had emerged from underneath the kitchen table and was making a break for freedom! 

"Yugi! Close the door! Quickly, before he escapes!" 

Startled, Yugi started for the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a small white-haired child in a white footed sleepsuit arrowing in on the open doorway. The boy's amethyst eyes widened in surprise but he didn't hesitate. He made it to the door just in time to close it before the chibi reached it. "Don't worry, he's still inside."

Ryou breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh… thank the Shadows… and thank you too, Yugi." He managed a weak smile at his friend.

"I shouldn't have left it open to begin with. Um… Ryou… why do you have a chibi in your kitchen and why does that chibi look an awful lot like… you?" Yugi stared down at the disappointed chibi now sitting forlornly in front of the closed door. 

"Um… that's… the reason why I was unable to go to school today," Ryou admitted with a sigh. He started to cross the room to collect his chibi-yami, but groaned as his head pounded and the room swum dizzily around him. 

"Ryou!" Yugi was at his friend's side in a moment, guiding him down into a chair. "That bump must be pretty bad."

"No… It wasn't that hard. Really." Ryou smiled weakly at Yugi. "I have a bit of a headache and I'm a little dizzy, that's all. I just need to sit down for a few minutes. I've had worse." They were quiet for a moment, both of them remembering several instances where Ryou had been badly hurt for one reason or another, usually connected in some way or another to Bakura. Ryou broke the silence. "Could I ask a favour please, Yugi?" 

"Sure Ryou! Just name it!" Yugi was eager to help. He was also still feeling guilty about the whole knock-jump-bump situation. 

"Could you pass me my chibi please? I don't want him crawling all over the place. He seems to have a tendency to get into trouble." 

Yugi blinked and looked over at the chibi… or rather where the chibi had been a few moments ago. "Um… I'll try…" He looked around and finally spotted the child crawling with surprising speed towards the other door, the one leading into the hallway. "Oh, no you don't!" Yugi chuckled as he ran after the chibi. "Hey, you're fast for such a little guy! Up you come. Uh oh." The startled chibi blinked and then started to wriggle and cry as soon as Yugi picked him up. "Um… I don't think he likes me, Ryou." The boy quickly carried the squirming child over to his friend. 

"Don't take it personally, he did that with me too at first. He just isn't used to you." Ryou smiled gently and put the icepack on the kitchen table so he could accept his chibi with both hands. He hugged the crying child close, gently rubbing his back until the sobs eased and the chibi snuggled against him. 

Yugi sat down on the opposite side of the table and silently watched his friend as he comforted the child in his arms. The gentle expression on Ryou's face, the loving way in which he held the child, the affection in his voice as he murmured reassurances… To most people, they would have been sure signs that the child was Ryou's, but to another light… "So… how did Bakura end up a chibi?" 

Ryou froze, then lifted shocked eyes to stare at Yugi. "How… how did you know?" he whispered.

Yugi chuckled. "The look in your eyes, the way you're holding him… it's obvious. At least, to anyone who knows you. There's only one person you feel that strongly about, and that's Bakura." 

"Oh. Of course." Ryou lowered his head, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks. 

"Hey! Ryou, it's nothing to be embarrassed about! If my yami were a chibi, I'd be acting just the same! Except I'd probably be panicking more." Yugi grinned as Ryou glanced at him. Ryou couldn't help but smile slightly in return. "Want to tell me about it?" 

Ryou sighed softly. "Bakura wouldn't want anyone to know…" he offered softly. It wasn't much, but at least it explained why he couldn't tell Yugi any more. Judging by the understanding expression on Yugi's face, he understood perfectly. Judging by Yugi's sudden distracted frown though, Yami didn't. 

"Yami says…" Yugi suddenly sighed. "Hold on, Yami! Not so fast! Hang on, we'll switch places." 

Ryou smiled slightly as the Millennium Puzzle around Yugi's neck flashed and the figure sitting on the other side of the table was suddenly somewhat taller. "Hello Yami."

"Ryou." Yami nodded and then blinked at the chibi now sleeping in Ryou's arms. "Bakura as a chibi… now there is something that I never believed I would see… How did this happen?" 

"I'm sorry, Yami. I can't." Ryou looked down, but a gentle hand touched his chin, lifting his head up again. Yami smiled at him as he withdrew his hand.

"Ryou, let me see if I can guess. That way, you will not have told me. All right?" 

Despite the spirit's gentle manner, Ryou was not fooled. He knew that Yami was only trying to play one of his little games. He looked Yami straight in the eye. "Yami, if you became a chibi, would you want anyone other than Yugi to know about it? Would you want Yugi to tell anyone how it had happened or anything else about it?"

Yami blinked. He started to respond but then paused, giving the questions careful consideration. After a short time, he nodded slowly. "I see your point, Ryou. No, I would not want any fuss made. At least, not if I knew the cause. If it was a mystery…" 

Ryou smiled reassuringly. "I know why Bakura is a chibi. At least…" He hesitated. That statement wasn't quite true and it bothered him. "I know what made him into a chibi."

Yami considered that. "They are not the same thing?" He was confused, but he knew better than to press Ryou for answers that he was not prepared to give. The worried look in Ryou's eyes as he looked down at his chibi-yami concerned Yami though. "Ryou… I can see that something about this is troubling you. Is it anything that Yugi or I could help you with?" 

Ryou slowly shook his head, his gaze firmly on the sleeping child in his arms. Yami's words had brought all of his fears flooding back into his mind, but he knew that his independent yami would hate for the Pharaoh to know what had happened. "Thank you Yami, but it's really nothing."

Yami sighed heavily, knowing that he had to accept that, even though he knew that it was not the truth. "Very well, Ryou. But if you do need us, Yugi and I are only a call away." 

Ryou smiled and nodded. "I know. Believe me, if anything goes wrong, you and Yugi will be the first ones I call!"

The spirit glanced at Bakura-chibi again. He was still finding it hard to believe that the small child was really the same spirit of the Millennium Ring who had sealed Yugi's soul inside a card only the day before! Yami sighed at the thought.

"My, that was a heavy sigh. Want to talk about it?" Ryou smiled and Yami grinned back. 

"It just occurred to me that I can't berate him for sealing Yugi's soul yesterday. He would have no idea what I was talking about! I was looking forward to it all night, too." He gave the chibi an unhappy look as Ryou chuckled. 

"Don't worry, I gave Bakura a piece of my mind about it yesterday. He knows that he overreacted." Ryou sighed and looked down at Bakura-chibi. "I'm afraid that he won't apologise for his actions though. You know how stubborn he is," he added softly.

"Yes, I know. I was considering apologising to him for my… overly hasty reaction. However, perhaps it is best if we simply forgot about it." 

Ryou nodded. "Oh yes. Definitely don't apologise to him, Yami. It would only encourage him." He smiled as Yami laughed. "Is that why you came over? To speak to Bakura about yesterday?" Ryou blinked as he suddenly realised something. "And why are you here now? I mean, school doesn't finish for hours yet… did something happen?" He looked at Yami in confusion.

Yami nodded. "Yugi and I were concerned when you were not at school. We feared it was because of the injuries that you sustained yesterday. Yugi was going to call you on Kaiba's cellphone, but you know how the school frowns at the use of them. He needed a distraction so he could make the call in peace. I provided him with one. I set off the school's fire alarm." Yami frowned slightly. "For some reason, the principal became very nervous at that point and closed the school for the day. Ryou? Are you all right?" He blinked at the other boy in surprise as Ryou suddenly made a choked sound and started coughing. 

Ryou waited until he could catch his breath, making a mental note not to try to stop a laugh ever again. "I'm fine. So the principal closed the school and you and Yugi stopped by to see me on your way home?" 

"Yes." Yami eyed Ryou warily, not convinced that his friend was really all right. A soft sound caught his attention and he looked down. "Bakura is awake. He doesn't look happy." 

"Hmm?" Ryou looked down and smiled slightly. "Oh, that's just the expression he gets when his diaper needs changing." He looked back at Yami in time to see the panic on his face. Ryou couldn't help but laugh at the spirit's reaction. "Would you like to help?" he asked mischievously. 

"Oh Ra, no! Anything but that!" Yami stood up abruptly. "I think it might be time for Yugi and I to go… In fact, I'm sure of it!" He started moving to the door, keeping an eye on Bakura-chibi the entire time. That caused him to trip over a chair, bump into the table and then bump into the wall. He smiled weakly as he grabbed the doorknob. "We'll see you at school…" He suddenly blinked, his movements growing still as he realised. "Oh… you won't be able to go to school while Bakura is like that, will you? How long will it last?" 

Ryou had been laughing at Yami's actions, but the question made him stop immediately. "I… don't know. Hopefully not too long. The excuse that I gave the school will hold for today, and maybe tomorrow. After that though… there's a good chance that the school would either send someone over here or contact Father about it."

Yami frowned in concern. "That's not good." He thought for a moment. "If you need a baby-sitter, I am sure that Grandpa would be willing to help."

Ryou blinked. He hadn't thought of Yugi's Grandpa. "Oh! Good idea! If Bakura's still like this the day after tomorrow, I'll ask him."

Yami smiled. "I am pleased that I could help." He paused for a moment, listening to Yugi. "Yugi says that you should look after yourself. It was a nasty bump and you still look a bit pale." Yami studied Ryou for a moment. "He's right." 

"I'll be fine, but thank you both for being so concerned about me." Ryou smiled as Yami looked embarrassed.

"You're welcome Ryou. That's what friends are for, after all." Yami smiled and started to open the door, then paused as he thought of something. "I assume you would prefer that Yugi and I keep Bakura's current… condition… from the others?" 

Ryou nodded, relieved. "Yes. Thank you, Yami. Bakura would hate it if he knew that anyone had seen him like this."

Yami nodded. "Very well. Don't worry, Ryou. His secret is safe with Yugi and I."

* * *

Ryou caught himself humming happily as he changed Bakura-chibi's diaper again. He smiled at the wriggly little chibi. "I know I should be more worried about the spell you cast, and it's effect on you, but… being with you like this… having you need me… Usually you're the strong one. I don't often get the chance to look after you." He finished buttoning the sleepsuit and lifted his chibi-yami into his arms, then held him close as the child snuggled contentedly against his chest. "I must admit… I rather enjoy looking after you, Bakura."

He held the child for a moment longer and then sighed softly. "Well, as nice as this is, standing here holding you isn't going to get the washing done! Come on, Bakura. Let's go see if we can find out what happened with the washing this morning!" 

In the laundry, Ryou made sure that the door was safely closed before he put Bakura-chibi down on the floor. "Hopefully you won't get into any trouble this time." He lightly brushed the child's hair off his face before turning to the washing machine, a determined look in his eyes.

* * *

"How in the world did that box of soap powder get in there?" Ryou carried his extremely wet chibi-yami into the bathroom as he wondered out loud about what he'd found in the washing machine. "Oh well, at least it wasn't anything more serious. The washing should be ready to be put out by the time I get you dry again. I can't believe that you managed to find the one puddle of soap suds that I missed when I was cleaning up earlier!" He smiled gently at the upset and uncomfortable child. "Don't worry Bakura, I'll have you dry in no time!" 

He had just taken off Bakura-chibi's wet diaper when the child accidentally kicked over the powder. The resulting cloud made both boys cough. Ryou lifted Bakura out of the cloud and winced. "Oh dear… what a mess." He looked at the chibi he was holding and chuckled. "You're a mess too. Yes, you are! Look at you, covered in powder. I'll put a fresh diaper on you… just as soon as I clean up some of this. It can't possibly be good for either of us to breathe this stuff in." 

Ryou looked around and finally set Bakura-chibi on the floor. "I know the tiles are cold but this will only take a moment and there's nowhere else that isn't covered in powder." He turned away and quickly wiped down the counter. "There! All done! Now to get you… Bakura? Oh no… not again!" 

He ran to the hallway and was just in time to see a rapidly moving chibi vanish around the corner. "Bakura! Get back here!" Ryou turned pale as he realised what was at that end of the hall. "Oh no… not Father's room…" He had taken no more than a step before a loud crash echoed from that direction, causing Ryou to break into a run. "Bakura!" 

To be continued…


	27. Panic Attack

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologise for the long delay in updating. This story took a while to simmer. For a longer explanation, see my story 'Interview with an Authoress'. Speaking of, in that story I made a promise to Bakura... and this is the chapter in which I keep my word -_^

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 27: Panic Attack  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou raced into his father's bedroom and skidded to a halt just inside the door as his wide eyes took in the sight before him. He gasped in horror. "Bakura! No! Don't move!" 

The chibi looked up at the cry, the scared look on his little face sending a jolt right through Ryou's heart. As Bakura-chibi started to whimper and shift into a crawling position, Ryou took a deep breath to calm himself down. He knew he had to handle this very carefully. "It's all right Bakura. I'm coming. Just stay still. Please… stay still." But the little boy was too frightened to listen. 

Bakura-chibi's wide eyes fixed on Ryou and he whimpered again as he began to crawl backwards. Ryou started moving towards him but he paused when his movement only made the small child cringe and crawl away faster. Ryou frowned in realisation. "You're… afraid of me…" His shock was interrupted by Bakura-chibi's sudden cry of pain.

"Bakura!" Ryou hurried across the room, barely taking the time to avoid the broken glass that lay on the floor. His yami-chibi was too hurt to care anymore about the bigger boy's approach. He merely sat in the middle of the glass, crying as he held one hand up in front of him. Ryou went pale as he saw drops of bright red blood fall to the floor. "Oh no…" 

Ryou carefully scooped his injured yami-chibi up off the floor and into his arms. He held the little boy close, rocking slightly as he gently rubbed Bakura-chibi's back. "Shhh… It's all right Bakura. I have you now. I'll look after you." The little chibi whimpered softly and Ryou looked down into the child's wide eyes. He was puzzled by the fear he saw mixed with the pain in the chocolate-brown orbs. "What is it Bakura? Why are you so afraid of me all of a sudden?"

The little boy looked down and Ryou followed his line of sight. All he saw was the remains of the shattered lamp that Bakura-chibi had somehow pulled off the bedside table. He frowned slightly. "I don't understand." He looked back at Bakura-chibi and suddenly recognised a third emotion in the child's face. Guilt. "Wait… are you afraid that you'll be in trouble for this?" When the wide eyes filled with fear and the chibi shivered again, Ryou had his answer. 

His heart filled with pain for his yami-chibi, as his soul howled in fury at those who had caused the small child to fear such things. Even knowing that they were now long gone did nothing to ease Ryou's anger. Only the knowledge that the little one was watching him closely made him able to lock his wild emotions away. He hugged Bakura-chibi. "It's all right, Bakura. I'm sure you didn't mean to do it. It was just an accident. What's important is that you weren't hurt… except for that cut on your hand. We'd best take care of that right away." 

Ryou smiled gently at his yami-chibi as the little boy looked up at him. The child's eyes were still wide, but with wonder now rather than fear. The look made Ryou's heart ease just a little. "Really, Bakura. It's all right. I'm not mad at you." He looked down at the mess thoughtfully. "To be honest, I never liked that lamp anyway." 

Returning his attention to Bakura-chibi, Ryou started for the door. "As soon as we're back in the bathroom, I'll see to your injured hand." His smile suddenly faltered as he realised something. Colour rushed into his face. "Um… just as soon as you're dressed again, that is… What is it about yamis that make you so eager to go without your clothes whenever you are in physical form? Or maybe it's just you… Oh dear… That is definitely not something I'll be asking Yugi about…" 

* * *

By the time Ryou finished binding Bakura-chibi's injured hand and getting him dressed, it was time for lunch. By the time Bakura-chibi was through with his strained carrots, Ryou thought he knew why the image of Summoned Skull on the jar looked as though he was suffering from exhaustion. 

He sighed as he studied his beaming yami-chibi. "I don't know why I'm surprised. I should know by now that you get messy whenever possible. Of course eating a jar of strained carrots would result in your getting more carrots on you than inside you. Not to mention around you… and on me…" 

Ryou shook his head and smiled slightly as his yami-chibi giggled softly. "Oh, so you think it's funny, do you? Well I hope you're still happy with yourself in a few minutes. This means that we both need another bath, after all." As he carried his yami-chibi up the stairs, Ryou was almost as happy as the wriggling, giggling chibi in his arms. He liked baths. 

* * *

Five minutes later, the house rang with the screams of a terrified chibi.

A few moments after that, the bathroom door opened. A small rubber duck soared through the doorway, bounced off the carpet and came to a sudden stop against the opposite wall. As the door closed again, Ryou could be heard apologising to his yami-chibi for accidentally scaring him. 

Apparently, an irrational fear of ducks was one thing that the spell hadn't affected.

* * *

As he relaxed in the warm bubble-covered water half an hour later, one hand lightly holding his yami-chibi as the child snuggled against his chest, Ryou gave a relieved sigh. It had taken him a while to calm Bakura-chibi down after the duck incident, but the child had finally forgiven him. 

He smiled down at the little boy. "Well… it's been quite a morning. What should we do this afternoon? I'll need to put the washing out, but apart from that I can't think of anything that needs to be done." His smile faded as a little thought nudged at the back of his mind, refusing to be ignored. "I guess we should try to work out why you're like this, though. The spell won't break until your three wishes come true and without knowing what they are…" Ryou sighed softly and lightly stroked his yami-chibi's hair out of the little boy's eyes. "Oh Bakura… whatever were you thinking when you cast the spell? You were so angry… According to the book, you're in this form because it's the form you need to be in, so your wishes can come to pass." 

Ryou frowned slightly as that made him think of something. "You grew a little older while we were sleeping, perhaps that's a clue? If your wishes are connected to this form, then perhaps you need to do things that a regular child your age would do? Let me think…" 

He tried to concentrate but it was no use. His mind was whirling with too much emotion for him to think clearly about anything. So much had happened and he was trying to be strong, for Bakura-chibi's sake, but it was hard. Deep down inside, Ryou was scared. He didn't want to think about life without his yami at his side. 

For years, long before Battle City, even before Duelist Kingdom, a part of him had known that he wasn't truly alone in the world. After he'd learned of the dark spirit's existence, it was that small part of him that had refused to allow his fear to guide his actions. He could have abandoned Bakura so easily. But he had chosen not to. Deep inside his heart, Ryou had seen something in his yami that the others had not. 

Just as he was not all goodness and light, so his yami was not all evil and shadow. They were two halves of the same soul. Neither was complete without the other. Somehow, Ryou had never had any trouble accepting that fact. He even found comfort in it. Or at least… he had, until the moment when he had plucked his yami-chibi out of the duck pond. In that instant, his world had tilted.

Ryou sighed heavily, causing his chest to rise and fall more than usual. The movement caused Bakura-chibi to look up at him with wide eyes. Ryou smiled and lightly stroked the child's hair. "It's all right, Bakura. I was just thinking about things. I have so much going around in my mind right now. What I really need is a walk. That usually helps me sort through things like this." A thought nudged at his mind and he blinked. "In fact… maybe that's what we both need…"

He looked thoughtfully at the little boy staring up at him. "Bakura… how would you like to go for a walk? Maybe to the mall?"

* * *

Ryou soon realised that going to the mall with Bakura-chibi wasn't anywhere near as simple as going to the mall with ordinary Bakura. Not even ordinary Bakura in physical form, which was something that Ryou had promised himself he would never do again after the last time, when Bakura had managed to get himself thrown out of three shops in under ten minutes. Bakura was reluctant to go to the mall at the best of times, but at least it didn't take Ryou half an hour just to get him ready to go there! 

"There… I think that's everything you could possibly need…" Ryou looked over the things he'd stuffed into his school backpack, frowning critically. "Diapers, powder, a washcloth, two bottles, a jar of Chibi Chow… mashed banana, your favourite… a spoon, another washcloth and a clean T-shirt. Oh, and my wallet and my keys. I've just changed you again so you should be right for a while. I think we're ready to go." He picked up the bag and winced at the weight. "Oh dear…" 

With the bag over one shoulder and his yami-chibi snuggled against his chest on the other side, Ryou went out the kitchen door. He locked it, turned… and almost tripped over the sleek black stroller sitting on the back porch. Ryou blinked at the unfamiliar object, slightly dazed. "Oh my… that spell certainly does think of everything, doesn't it?" 

Bakura-chibi protested with a soft whimper and wide pleading eyes when Ryou settled him into the stroller. Ryou smiled at him and lightly stroked his hair. "It's all right, Bakura. I'm not going away from you. I'm going to be right behind you. It's not a baby pram, so you can sit up and look out at the scenery as we go. It will be much more interesting and fun for you than just staring at my chest for the entire trip." Bakura-chibi whimpered again.

By the time they reached the driveway, Bakura-chibi was sobbing. 

By the time they reached the footpath, Ryou was pushing the stroller with his schoolbag in it with one hand while his other arm held Bakura-chibi safely against his chest. The little boy smiled happily as he rested his head on the bigger boy's shoulder. One little hand held on to Ryou's arm for balance but it was the other hand that made Ryou shake his head and mutter, "Once a possessive yami, always a possessive yami." 

Bakura-chibi didn't relax his grip on the front of Ryou's shirt once during the walk to the mall.

* * *

Two hours, four stores, more strange women than he had been able to keep count of, a bottle of juice and a diaper change later, Ryou pushed the stroller out of the mall and winced as the bright sunlight not only hurt his eyes, but also caused the Rock Ogres pounding away inside his head to increase their efforts. He sighed. The headache was just one of many reasons why he would not be attempting another shopping trip like this one. 

He hadn't realised how exhausting shopping with a chibi could possibly be. Especially a chibi who apparently had a magnetic affect on more than just mess. The females hadn't been able to keep away from him! When Ryou hadn't been trying to tell them politely to keep their hands off his chibi, he'd had to endure countless comments such as 'Ooh, she's so adorable!' and 'What a cute little girl!' That was the oddest thing. For some reason, every female had seemed to believe that Bakura-chibi was a girl and not a boy. 

Ryou looked down at the small child nestled against his chest, where he'd insisted on remaining throughout the entire trip, and suddenly chuckled. "You know Bakura, I can't honestly blame them for thinking that you're a girl. With that mass of soft hair and those big eyes… You really are an adorable chibi." The little boy blinked up at him for a moment before returning his attention to hugging the Dark Witch plushie that Ryou had found in the toy store. Ryou gave him a gentle hug before starting off for home. 

As he walked, Ryou had to admit to himself that it hadn't been entirely bad. Aside from the hoards of females with seemingly nothing better to do than stop complete strangers and insist on petting their chibi's hair, things had gone fairly well. At least Bakura-chibi hadn't tried to steal anything. 

Okay, there had been the incident with the stack of cans in the grocery store… but honestly, that could have happened with any chibi who had kicked his little feet out while being carried past it. 

And Ryou still didn't think it had been very nice of the salesgirl in the toy store to try to force Bakura-chibi to let go of the Dark Witch plushie while she rang up the sale. Honestly, what had been so wrong about the child's insistence on accompanying his new friend along the checkout counter and over the bar-code scanner? True, it might have been easier if he hadn't still been holding on to Ryou at the same time, but surely that had been no reason for her to speak so sharply to them both? If she hadn't been so mean, Bakura-chibi wouldn't have started crying and the store manager wouldn't have come to see what all the noise was about. 

It had been awfully nice of him to give them the plushie, although Ryou suspected he had done it so they would leave the store more quickly. Still, by that time he'd been only too happy to leave. As it was, it had taken him almost ten minutes to calm his yami-chibi down afterwards. Fortunately he'd been able to distract the child with all the bright lights in the electric shop. 

Ryou sighed as he glanced down at the box peeking out the side of the stroller. "I'm not surprised that they still had a few lamps like Father's, even though it's been a few years since he bought it. I doubt if there would be too many people interested in them. I do wish that the salesman hadn't given me that smirking look though. He made me very uncomfortable. It isn't my fault that Father has terrible taste in lamps." 

He winced. "Honestly, if I hadn't needed to get one exactly the same as his original one, I would never have dreamed of buying a lamp with a glass base made in the shape of a… yes… well…" He winced again as heat rushed into his cheeks. "I still can't believe that I never realised what it was supposed to be… or that I worked it out at the exact same moment that the salesman came up behind me… and why is it that salesmen always sneak up behind people like that? He's lucky that he has such good reflexes or I might have seriously injured him with that lamp." He blushed again at the memory of him holding the lamp base as he swung around. 

"I think for Father's next birthday I might get him another lamp. Preferably one that isn't shaped like a…" Ryou trailed off, his blush deepening as the memory of the glass lamp base's curves popped into his mind. His eyes widened as his traitorous imagination suddenly superimposed the image of Bakura's female form over the top of the lamp. According to his mind, from neck to hips it was a perfect fit. 

Someone whimpered. It took Ryou a moment to realise that the someone was him…

He looked down at the small child snuggled against him and smiled weakly. "Bakura… right now I am very, very glad that you are a chibi. If you were in your usual form at the moment, with our mind link operational… I would never hear the end of it."

* * *

By the time Ryou walked into his bedroom, Bakura-chibi was nearly asleep. It had been a long day for the little boy and it was still barely mid-afternoon. Definitely time for a nap! As soon as the child was settled with his plushie on one side of the bed, Ryou arranged himself comfortably on the other side with the book he'd bought himself. 

He'd originally gone into the bookshop with the vague idea of buying something to read to Bakura-chibi. Perhaps something with cute fluffy bunnies, like the ones on the cover of the magazine in the window of the newsagency. But then he'd spotted this book and he'd known at once that it was just what he needed. 

It was titled 'Baby Mine: a guide for nurturing your baby'. Ryou blushed as he opened the book, remembering the speculative look the saleswoman had given him and Bakura-chibi as she'd rung up the sale. He mercilessly pushed the memory to the back of his mind and started reading. 

A few minutes later, Ryou got up and went to find the measuring tape from his sewing kit. Bakura-chibi grumbled softly in his sleep as Ryou carefully measured him. The boy wore a faint frown when he returned to his book. Ryou was fairly sure that Bakura-chibi was about two years old, because the chibi looked exactly like he had at that age. According to the book though, the child was somewhat smaller than he should have been.

A page later, Bakura-chibi stirred as he was gently lifted up and carried into the bathroom to be weighed. He made a discontented sound as he was momentarily separated from his plushie, but he didn't wake up. He stirred again when he was placed back on the bed, snuggling into the soft quilt. 

When Ryou lay down on the bed again, he looked at the sleeping child for a long moment before lightly brushing the hair back from the sweet little face. He returned his attention to the book, his heart breaking as he re-read the figures it stated. Not only was Bakura-chibi small for his age, but he was also considerably under-weight. Assuming that his current form was the same as how he had really been at that age back in Ancient Egypt… 

"Oh Bakura… someone really didn't look after you very well, did they? I wish…" His whisper trailed off into a sigh before he continued reading. 

A few pages later, Ryou froze in shock. His eyes frantically re-read the paragraph he'd just finished as he tried to force himself to ignore the wild thumping of his heart enough to concentrate on the words in front of him. The key phrases practically jumped off the page. According to the book, by age two most children were not only already walking, but they were talking! 

Ryou jumped to his feet and began to pace across the room and back as he tried to work out what he should do. "Oh no… Bakura doesn't do either of those things… but he should be doing them both… Why isn't he walking and talking? Is something wrong? Is it the spell? Has it affected him somehow? That overnight growth spurt… what if it was a sign that something was wrong? How could I have just ignored it? Bakura! I have to help him! My poor little yami-chibi! He needs help!" 

Bakura-chibi stirred restlessly as Ryou's fearful mutters grew in volume along with his level of fear. Ryou hurried to the bed to check on him and brushed the long silken hair off the child's face with a shaking hand. "Bakura… I know, I'll go call a doctor. I'm sure there's plenty of children's doctors in the phone book. I'll call one and find out what I should do!" He whirled around and gasped as he bumped into something soft. His eyes widened in shock as a pair of gentle hands caught him before he could fall.

"Hey! Easy there, sweet master! You could hurt someone doing that." The warm voice was laced with laughter. Ryou looked up at the smiling Shadow Monster who had appeared without warning in the middle of the room. Her smile shifted into a look of alarm as she saw the look in his eyes. "My master! What is wrong?" She pulled him into a comforting hug as Ryou started crying, suddenly overcome by everything that had happened. 

"I… I'm sorry… it's just that I… Bakura… chibi… something's wrong and I… I… I don't know what to do!" The boy's words were hard to make out in-between his sobs but Dark Witch got the gist of things. She gently guided the boy back to the bed and sat down beside him, on the side where Bakura-chibi was starting to stir at the noise. Dark Witch turned and blinked down in shock at the child. 

"Well… If I hadn't seen it for myself, I would never have believed it," she muttered before scooping the child up with one arm while she pulled Ryou gently against her with the other. She hugged the young light to her side as she cradled Bakura-chibi expertly. She studied the child for a long moment before returning her attention to Ryou. Dark Witch smiled gently at him. 

"First off, Ryou, don't panic. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Bakura." She kept her voice low so as not to disturb the slumbering chibi. 

"But the book says that he's too small and too thin," Ryou protested in barely more than a whisper.

Dark Witch hugged him and smiled reassuringly. "Books like that don't apply the same way to every child. They're more of a guideline. Look at Bakura. He's happy and healthy, is he not?" 

"Yes." Ryou nodded. He was starting to feel calmer, but he was still very concerned. "But the book also says that he should be walking and talking by now, and he isn't." He looked anxiously up at Dark Witch. "What if the spell had some kind of odd effect on him?" 

Dark Witch blinked and looked surprised. "Oh, is that why you were in such a tizzy? Don't worry so, sweet master. Young ones always do that sort of thing in their own time. They don't go by what is printed in a book. Most likely because they are too young to read." She winked at him and he was startled into a soft chuckle. Dark Witch smiled and hugged him again. 

"You aren't the first one to fear so. I remember back when the Witch of the Black Forest and Neo the Magic Swordsman first brought Nemuriko home. It was just after the sealing. They spent the first three hundred years terrified that they were doing something wrong because the child wasn't able to speak. Then one day, Neo went missing for a few hours. He'd been attacked and couldn't get home on his own. The moment Nemuriko saw him, he held out his arms and cried out 'Daddy'."

Ryou smiled. "And after that he spoke all the time, right?"

Dark Witch grinned wryly. "No. After that, he didn't speak another word for almost fifty years. Then one day he just started talking and that was that." She smiled and hugged Ryou close. "If Bakura isn't talking, it's probably just because he doesn't have anything that he wants to say. When he wants to say something badly enough, he will say it."

"Is that true about walking too?" Ryou still looked faintly worried.

"Yes. Nemuriko had been at the Castle of Dark Illusions for nearly seven hundred years before we discovered that he could float. One day we saw him crawl into the kitchen. When we followed him, we caught him floating up to the bench to get at D Human's latest batch of cookies. His reason was, 'why would I fwoat when I wike mama and daddy cawwying me?'" Dark Witch grinned as Ryou chuckled. He was suddenly feeling much better. He looked up at the Shadow Monster.

"Thank you, Dark Witch." Remembering her sudden appearance, Ryou looked at her curiously. "How did you know I needed you?" 

Dark Witch looked at Ryou for a long moment, an odd look in her eyes. She suddenly pulled him close and dropped a light kiss on his forehead. "Dear boy…" She held him like that for some time before she spoke softly. "The Millennium Items are connected to the Shadow Magic. The feelings of their bearers, if strong enough, can sometimes be sensed by those of us with the power to feel such things. Today, the whole Shadow Realm knew you were upset. Because it was you, I came to see what was going on."

Ryou sighed softly and relaxed against her. "I'm glad you did. I'm afraid I was more than a little panicked."

The Shadow Monster chuckled. "It's not surprising. You're new to this and it is a very unusual situation." She studied the chibi still sleeping peacefully in the crook of her arm. "I thought the Dark Magician said that he had taken out the spell for turning someone into a chibi… Something about it being too dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands…"

"It's the effect of another spell." Ryou hesitated for barely a moment before he told Dark Witch the entire story. He knew Bakura wouldn't mind if the friendly Shadow Monster knew the truth. She had been their friend for quite some time and had helped them out of a few tricky situations in the past. Besides which, she knew quite a bit about magic. Ryou thought that she might be able to offer some advice about how to work out what Bakura's wishes had been.

Dark Witch listened to Ryou in silence, her frown deepening as he explained the situation. The more he told her about the state of mind that Bakura had been in when he had cast the spell, the more uneasy she grew. When he finished, she hugged him close while she studied Bakura-chibi more intently than she had earlier. 

She could sense the Shadow Magic surrounding the child and was a little surprised at how strong the spell was. Whatever Bakura had wished for, he had made the wishes with all his heart and soul. Dark Witch concentrated with all her considerable skill, but even then she could catch no more than a faint sense of the outermost layer of the multi-layered spell. But what she found surprised her. 

"This is one of the strongest spells in the Book of Secret Arts, and one of the most complicated. It isn't just one spell, you see. It's made up of a series of spells all interwoven to produce the right results. The spell sets things up so events have the most likely chance of coming to pass in the way that will grant the spellcaster's wishes. But because there's still an element of chance involved, the spell doesn't end until the final wish is granted and things return to normal. At the moment, the magic is still working on Bakura. As things happen, it reacts accordingly to keep events moving in the right direction. Usually, such changes are only slight. But in this case, I can sense that Bakura's first wish has been changed in mid-spell."

Ryou gasped. "Was that why he grew last night? He was only about a year old yesterday," he added in explanation as Dark Witch shot him a confused look.

"Ah! Yes, that would have been why. But this is very unusual. I don't think it's ever happened before, but then again this particular spell isn't used all that often." She looked thoughtful. 

"What does it mean? Is something wrong?" Ryou anxiously looked from Dark Witch to his yami-chibi and back again.

Dark Witch smiled and hugged the worried boy. "No, nothing's wrong. It just means that in the process of granting Bakura's first wish, the spell has found that it has already come to pass."

"So… it's only going to grant him two wishes now?" Ryou winced. His yami would not like that.

Apparently Dark Witch was thinking the same thing because she chuckled. "I'm sure Bakura will be happy to know that's not the case. The spell simply shifts the other two wishes forward and adjusts itself so that a new third wish is also granted. That is why he changed. Apparently the original first wish worked best if Bakura was an especially young chibi, but the new wish will come to pass more easily if he is older." She smiled gently at Ryou as she finally felt the tension in his body ease.

"So… he's really all right?" Ryou asked softly as he leaned against Dark Witch. He suddenly felt very tired. Panic and worry was exhausting. The Shadow Monster hugged him lightly.

"Yes, sweet master. He's fine." She grinned and lightly patted the plushie that the sleeping chibi was clutching tightly to his chest. "He also has excellent taste."

* * *

Ryou was still thinking over what Dark Witch had told him about the spell as he cleared away the dinner dishes that night. Although she hadn't been able to tell him exactly what Bakura's wishes had been, she had erased his doubts and fears that his yami would be a yami-chibi forever. The spell was working perfectly, so it was only a matter of time before Bakura-chibi was his usual self again.

Thinking of his yami-chibi made Ryou instinctively turn to check on him. He smiled. The little boy was crawling towards the kitchen bench with an adorably intent look on his small face.

Before he'd started making dinner, Ryou had washed the kitchen floor, barricaded the doorway and made sure that there was nothing dangerous within a crawling chibi's reach, so Bakura-chibi could safely crawl around. The little boy had happily crawled all around the room as Ryou made dinner, constantly getting under the older boy's feet and threatening to trip him. As soon as he'd eaten his dinner of strained potatoes, peas, chicken and gravy, Bakura-chibi had stared longingly at the floor, until Ryou had finally lifted him off his lap and set him down. He hadn't been still for a moment since. 

Ryou watched his yami-chibi approach the bench and then disappear behind it. He chuckled and turned back to the sink to continue washing the dishes. He knew what Bakura-chibi was trying to do. There was a teatowel hanging over the edge of the bench. Ryou had used it earlier to wipe up the mess he'd made when he'd accidentally ripped a bag of flour open a little too hard. He had been in the middle of making the gravy at the time, so he hadn't had time to do anything more than wipe up the excess flour and sit the bag on top of it so it didn't make any more mess. The dangling edge of the teatowel was a definite temptation to a crawling chibi, but Ryou knew that it was out of reach. 

Hearing an odd noise behind him, he idly looked over his shoulder. He gasped when he saw the bag of flour being dragged across the bench. "Bakura!" 

Ryou didn't quite move fast enough. He rounded the corner of the bench just as the flour began to fall, but that wasn't what caused him to freeze in shock. 

Bakura-chibi was standing up! He was also pulling on the teatowel, which was now in easy reach.

The little boy shot a startled glance at Ryou just as the bag of flour fell on top of him. He cried out in fear and surprise, then began to sneeze violently as the clouds of flour covered him from his head to his tiny sleepsuit-covered toes. His eyes screwed tightly closed against the invasive stuff that was attacking him as he instinctively turned towards Ryou and stumbled forward a few steps. 

"Oh dear." Ryou came out of his state of shock at the sight of his scared yami-chibi trying to get to him. "It's all right, Bakura. I'm here. You'll be fine. Don't worry. It's just a little flour." He lifted the chibi into his arms and coughed as the movement disturbed the flour covering the little boy. "Make that a lot of flour…" 

He gently wiped the worst of it off Bakura-chibi's face, until the child could blink up at him. Ryou smiled and hugged the little boy close, then he blinked as the realisation of what he'd seen finally sank in. Incredibly happy, Ryou swung the surprised chibi up into the air, spinning them both around in a circle before drawing the child close again for another hug. "Oh Bakura! You can walk! You really can walk!" 

He laughed as he started towards the door, his yami-chibi snuggled against his chest. "This calls for a celebration! I'll get you a nice dish of ice-cream… as soon as we have another bath to get rid of all this flour."

* * *

Ryou stretched and yawned before climbing into bed. It had been a long day and he was exhausted. He rolled onto his side and smiled at the chibi lying next to him, his Dark Witch doll in his arms. "You certainly love that toy, don't you?" Ryou chuckled. He reached out and gently brushed the child's hair out of his eyes. Bakura-chibi giggled and hugged his plushie. Ryou smiled, but his expression shifted slightly, becoming thoughtful and a little sad. 

"I wonder if you'll be like this tomorrow as well." He shifted slightly until Bakura-chibi was lying nestled at his side, his little head resting on Ryou's shoulder and Ryou's arm curled protectively around him. Bakura-chibi yawned as he snuggled contentedly into the bigger boy's warmth. 

Ryou sighed softly. "Bakura… As much as I miss having you with me as you normally are, I must admit that a part of me will miss you when you are no longer a chibi. There's just something about seeing you like this… You're so small, so helpless… You really need me. You're usually the strong one… the protective one… It's so rare for you to show even a hint of vulnerability, or pain and even when you do, you just scowl and tell me not to fuss. I don't often get the chance to look after you."

He sighed again. His exhaustion was pulling at him and he knew that sleep was not far off. But there was something that he had to do first. He smiled gently at his yami-chibi as the little boy's eyes drifted shut. "I would never dare say this to you, normally. I can only imagine how you'd react if you knew. But right now… I can't resist. I know it's safe. Dark Witch confirmed my guess that your mind has changed just as your body has. You won't remember anything that's happened when you do return to your normal form. So… Bakura… there's something I want to tell you." 

The little boy made a muffled sound as he shifted against Ryou's shoulder, pulling his doll closer. Ryou took a deep breath. "No matter what form you are in, or what spell you cast… Whatever you do, or don't do… Whatever you say or don't say… You are my yami and nothing will change that. But if you ever seal any of our friends' souls into a card again, or try another stunt like the one that caused all of this in the first place, I will personally see to it that you not only apologise to everyone concerned, but that you are suitably chastised and punished for your actions! Malik has already volunteered to 'whip you into shape', as he put it." 

Ryou frowned slightly as he remembered that particular conversation, and the gleam that had been in Malik's eyes at the time. "Although… I'm not entirely certain that he didn't mean it literally." His frown deepened. "Or that he was thinking of it as a punishment, for that matter…" 

He looked down at the little child lying against him and his frown faded back into a smile. "Don't worry, Bakura. I would never let anyone hurt you." Shifting slightly, he brushed his lips against his yami-chibi's soft cheek in a gentle kiss. He settled down again, his eyes starting to close as his exhaustion began to claim him. 

"Besides," he muttered sleepily, "Malik has his own yami to torment and play with. You're mine, and I love you far too much to let him… anywhere near… you…" He sighed softly as he drifted off to sleep, a small smile on his lips.

* * *

Bakura-chibi stirred and opened his eyes, disturbed by the sudden silence. He looked up sleepily at the bigger boy, wondering why the soft voice had stopped. He loved that voice. It always made him feel good, not like mama's voice or… He shivered at the loudness that echoed in his memory and quickly snuggled against the boy again until there was nothing except the nice warm feeling that had been in his tummy for most of the day. 

He didn't know what it was, but he loved it. He loved the boy too. The boy hadn't yelled at him for being bad and he smelled nice and he gave him good things to eat and he made baths fun with those pretty sparkly bubbles and he'd given him a nice soft toy… Bakura-chibi hugged his Dark Witch plushie happily. He had a soft bed and he was as warm and comfortable as any chibi could possibly wish to be. He was also happier than he could remember ever being before. Not only did the boy hold him better than mama, but he held him more than mama too! He held him when he was scared and sad and hurt and happy and tired and wet and even when he was none of those things and he just wanted to be held. He loved being held. 

Bakura-chibi snuggled into the boy's warmth and sighed happily as the boy's arm shifted instinctively to hold him close. The little boy yawned and his eyes slowly closed. 

"Boy wawm…" he whispered softly.

To be continued…


	28. Sealed with a Kiss

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: I'd just like to say a really big 'Thank you!' to everyone who's reviewed so far! All of you have been so nice with your comments, they really make my day.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: If anyone's interested, I've done a few images up of Bakura in both his kitten and chibi forms. The link is on my bio page. If it isn't on the page when you look, try again in a few hours. Changes like that take a while to appear sometimes.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 3: Because of the changes in FF.net's upload system, changes in scene in all of my stories will now be represented by - - -, since the asterisk no longer works. I am also unable to use my signature happy-face smilie for the same reason.

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**Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 28: Sealed with a Kiss**  
By Shadow's Mirror

.

The house was silent except for the steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the downstairs hallway and the drip of water from the leaking tap in the bathroom. In Ryou's bedroom, both those noises were shut out by the closed door, so the only sound was the soft breathing of the boy sleeping peacefully in his bed and the chibi he held protectively in his arms. Then a new sound whispered through the room.

The faint rustle of ancient pages turning was accompanied by a soft golden glow that enveloped the large spellbook sitting on Ryou's desk. When the book's pages stopped moving, the glow did not fade. Instead, it grew brighter. Oddly though, the bright glow seemed to be restricted to the area immediately around the book. Its light did not pierce the shadows covering the rest of the room, or disturb the two boys who continued to sleep just a few feet away.

As the glow began to fade, a shimmer of golden light appeared in the middle of the room. By the time the book had returned to its usual appearance, the shimmer had taken on the form of a tall, thin being. Then the shimmering light suddenly blinked out, as though it had never existed, leaving the familiar form of the Dark Magician in its place and plunging the room into darkness again.

The Dark Magician waited for a moment while his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lighting. When he could see again, he looked around as though searching for something. His eyes fell on the two forms in the bed and a slight smile settled on his face.

He crossed the room slowly, taking care to keep his steps as silent as he could. This was the riskiest part of his plan. If either of the boys woke up now, he would have no choice but to leave and he might not get another chance to do what he had to do. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when he finally stood at the side of the bed, with both boys still sleeping.

Ryou stirred, a slight frown on his face, as though he sensed that something was out of place. The Dark Magician quickly held his staff out over the boy and whispered a single word. "Sleep." A fine violet mist fell from the staff, vanishing into the air before it touched either boy. Ryou immediately sighed and settled down again. In his arms, Bakura-chibi also sighed and remained sleeping.

With the sleep spell in place, the Dark Magician was free to do as he wished. The spell would ensure that both boys remained asleep until dawn and what he needed to do would take only a few minutes. He could have done it there and then, but… He looked down at the two slumbering boys and couldn't resist.

After gently brushing a stray lock of Ryou's hair back off his forehead, the Dark Magician gently eased Bakura-chibi out of Ryou's hold. Much to his surprise, both boys immediately stirred despite the powerful spell upon them. "So… your bond still holds true, despite the spells and Bakura's current form. Interesting." He waited a moment while they settled down again, noting with great interest how Ryou's sleep was now rather restless. He brushed another light touch over the boy's cheek, silently reinforcing the sleep spell. A slight frown creased his brow as the boy groaned softly before finally lying still. "Do not worry Ryou, your little yami is safe with me."

As soon as Ryou was sound asleep again, the Dark Magician carried Bakura-chibi over to the window. He settled down on the wide windowseat, the small child cradled in his arms with all the skill of someone who was very familiar with handling chibis. Bakura-chibi made a dissatisfied noise in his sleep and the Dark Magician responded by rocking him slightly. "Hush, Bakura. It is all right. You will be back in the arms of your light soon."

He smiled slightly as the child settled down at the sound of his soft voice. When he then lightly brushed the chibi's bangs out of his eyes, Bakura-chibi responded by hugging his toy closer in his sleep. The movement caught the Dark Magician's attention. "What have you there, little one?" He peered more closely at it, trying to make it out in the faint moonlight. When he realised what the toy was, he blinked. "Ah. So that is why Dark Witch was so smug when I saw her earlier." He sighed and shot a disappointed look over at Ryou. "I suppose a Dark Magician toy was out of the question…"

With another sigh, the Dark Magician shifted Bakura-chibi slightly so he could get a better look at his little face. He studied him for a moment in silence and then nodded. "Yes, so far, so good. Things are progressing rather nicely. Not quite as quickly as I had hoped, perhaps, but then again this sort of thing needs to develop in its own time. I should not interfere. I know that. But…" His hand lightly stroked the child's soft hair, causing Bakura-chibi to snuggle against him happily in his sleep. The Dark Magician smiled down at the little boy. "What can I say? I never could resist a happy ending."

He looked over at the boy sleeping across the room and sighed softly before returning his attention to the sleeping chibi in his arms. "If anyone deserves a happy ending, it is you and Ryou but I cannot help there. That will be up to the both of you. But there is something I can do for you now."

The Dark Magician closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The words of the spell filled his mind and he took a moment to make sure that he knew them all off by heart before he began to speak. His voice was never any louder or stronger than a whisper, but by the end of the first line it seemed to fill the entire room, such was the power of the spell and its caster.

"All that you have seen or heard,  
Every action and spoken word,  
Everything that you'd regret,  
If you knew that you'd forget,  
Although the spell will try to bind  
All that lies within your mind,  
When you grow, let these things be   
Safe within your memory.

Not only recall his heart so true,  
But one more gift I give to you…  
The thoughts that through your link, unknown  
From his mind to yours have flown,  
Let them be as crystal clear  
As a whisper in your ear.  
The spell I cast to bring you this,  
I now seal it, with a kiss."  
  
The Dark Magician leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Bakura-chibi's forehead. As he did so, a shimmer of golden light flowed over the child sleeping in his arms. The spell had been cast.

For a few moments once his job was done, the Dark Magician allowed himself to relax as he cradled Bakura-chibi. He looked out of the window, staring at the darkness beyond with troubled eyes that seemed to be gazing at something that only he could see. He sighed heavily and returned his attention to the chibi stirring restlessly in his hold. "Well little one, as much as I enjoy being here, it is time for me to return to the Shadow Realm. I just have one more thing to do before I go."

A few moments later, the Dark Magician smiled as Ryou's arms moved protectively around his yami-chibi. The child made a satisfied sound and snuggled into the bigger boy's embrace before they both slipped into a deep and untroubled sleep. Despite the sleep spell, it was the first time that neither of them had been restless since the Dark Magician had separated them.

The Dark Magician moved around the bed until he was standing at the base of it. He raised his staff and pointed it towards the two boys. Then he grinned, a surprisingly wicked gleam flashing through his eyes. "Imprint." There was a flash of light that lit up the entire room as bright as day. When the shadows had claimed the room once more, the Dark Magician held out his hand. Immediately, a piece of paper appeared in his grasp. Moving around to Bakura-chibi's side of the bed, he placed the paper on the bedside table.

He was about to turn when he paused, a thoughtful look in his eyes. When he grinned, his eyes gleamed with mischief. "Oh, why not? I will probably never get this chance again, after all."

Raising his staff again, this time pointed at the piece of paper, the Dark Magician gave another verbal command. "Copy…" he paused to consider, "… times two." There was another flash of light, although this one was nowhere near as bright as the first had been. When it faded, two more pieces of paper lay on top of the first. The Dark Magician chuckled softly as he slipped them into his robe. He grinned at the sleeping light and yami-chibi and then raised his staff again.

When the shadows reclaimed the room after the third flash of light, the Dark Magician was gone.

- - -

The small study was warm and cosy with a cheerful fire crackling merrily in the hearth and bathing the room in a rich golden glow. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with books of all shapes and sizes, while more books were piled in gravity-defying piles wherever there was a spare spot of floor or furniture. The only places left clear were the desk, the chair behind it, several paths around the room and the large overstuffed armchair positioned directly in front of the fire. The Dark Magician took a deep breath of the familiarly musty air, filled with the scents of old books and scented wood and let it out again in a contented sigh. "Ah… home sweet home."

"Have a nice trip?" The soft voice surprised him for a moment and he tensed, his attention turning to the back of his armchair. His occupied armchair, apparently. He relaxed again as his mind belatedly recognised the voice. The Dark Magician released an amused chuckle.

"I should have known that you would be here. Although… I don't remember telling anyone where I was going…" His voice was its usual mild tone and only someone very familiar with it would have noticed the unspoken question it held. The chair's occupant easily did so.

"When we met in the forest earlier, you questioned me about Bakura and Ryou. It's Wednesday, so I knew you would be alone here tonight while your apprentice studied at the library. I figured you'd try something tricky. I never thought you would dare interfere with my sweet masters, though."

The chair moved slightly as Dark Witch stood up and turned to confront the Dark Magician. Her eyes were hard and cold as she glared at him and a shiver ran up his spine as he looked into the twin pools of fury. He backed up a step when he noticed that she was holding her spear. "What did you do to them?" Her voice matched her eyes and the sharp question made her opponent wince.

"I did nothing to them." He quickly held up his hand to stop her protest. "All I did was cast a simple spell to enable Bakura to remember that his wishes had been granted! Nothing more!" Noticing that Dark Witch had lowered her spear and was listening intently, the Dark Magician relaxed slightly and elaborated.

"There is a fault in that particular spell. It grants the caster's wishes, yes, but it takes the wishes very literally. Wishes for items are fine, but if the wish is for something to happen, then sometimes it may happen without the caster realising it. Like Bakura, in this case. He would have remembered nothing, since he was too young. I thought it best to make sure that he knew his wishes had been granted. Otherwise, he probably would have cast that spell again out of sheer stubbornness."

Dark Witch thought for a moment before nodding slightly. She blinked and her spear vanished. The female Shadow Monster smirked to herself when she noticed how the Dark Magician relaxed at that. "I guess that's fair enough." She gave him a sharp look. "As long as that is all you did."

The Dark Magician looked away from her, a faint tide of colour washing into his pale cheeks. "Ah… well… there was one other little thing…" He shifted uneasily as Dark Witch raised an eyebrow and waited in ominous silence for him to continue. "I… couldn't resist… I mean they looked so relaxed and it is so rare to see them like that so I… I…" He sighed heavily. "I took an imprint of them."

Dark Witch glared at him. "You did what?! Why you… you…" She spluttered for a moment, unable to come up with anything descriptive enough to say to him.

The Dark Magician ducked his head, his cheeks now burning with embarrassment. He reached into his robe and held out one of the copies he had made of the imprint. It was basically a piece of paper with an image imprinted on it, rather like a printed version of a photograph. In this case, the image was of Ryou and Bakura-chibi sleeping peacefully. "I made you a copy…" he offered weakly.

"You… you…" Dark Witch paused in her spluttering and blinked at him. "You did? Oh. Thanks." She took the paper from him and studied the image for a moment. A slight smile stole over her features. "Aw… they're so adorable like that!" She caught herself and quickly frowned at her opponent again. "But you still should not have done it!"

"I left the original for them. I wasn't going to take copies but…" He shrugged sheepishly and tried a small smile, which faded when Dark Witch kept glaring at him. The Dark Magician stared down at the floor and did his best to look as miserable as he felt. Dark Witch sighed.

"Oh for the Shadows' sake, will you stop it with the pouting already? I guess there's no harm done." The Dark Magician looked up hopefully and Dark Witch fixed him with her most serious look. "But you know, if Bakura ever finds out that you have a copy of that imprint…"

The Dark Magician winced at the thought. "I'll hide it in my bedroom. No one but me ever goes in there," he assured her quickly. Dark Witch suddenly smirked.

"You said it, not me!"

- - -

The first fingers of dawn crept into the room where Bakura and Ryou lay sleeping. They inched across the floor, bringing the faint light of morning into the complete darkness that had been there moments earlier. On the bed, Bakura-chibi shifted as the Shadow Magic gathered around him. Awakened from a deep sleep by the strange feeling, he whimpered softly in fear, not knowing what was happening.

The sound woke Ryou and he blinked open his eyes and looked sleepily at his chibi-yami. When he saw the faint glow surrounding the little boy, he was immediately wide awake. Somewhere deep down inside his soul, Ryou knew what the glow meant. "Bakura!" He quickly gathered the frightened child into his arms and hugged him close, knowing that it might well be the last time he would get to do so. "It's all right, Bakura. Everything is all right."

Bakura-chibi looked up into the gently smiling face of the boy who had come to mean so much to him and he stopped being afraid. The boy was with him. He was safe. A sudden understanding flashed through his mind and sorrow filled his heart. Somehow… he knew that everything was about to change. He didn't want it to. He wanted to stay with the boy forever.

Ryou gasped as Bakura-chibi suddenly hugged him as tightly as the small child could. The glow around the little boy grew brighter, but Ryou kept his eyes on his chibi-yami until he could no longer stand the brightness. As he closed his eyes, he hugged the child, not wanting to let go.

With his eyes closed, Ryou could feel the change as it happened. The little form in his arms began to grow rapidly. It was only a few moments before Ryou knew that Bakura was back to his normal size. He knew the light was fading again, but still he didn't release his hold or open his eyes. He just couldn't bring himself to face the fact that the adorable little child was really gone.

Ryou started in shock when a hand brushed his cheek, his eyes opening instinctively to see who had touched him so gently. He thought he caught a glimpse of something oddly like tenderness in his yami's dark eyes, but it was gone so swiftly that Ryou decided he must have been imagining it. He blinked uncertainly up at Bakura. He wanted to say something, anything, but his mind was blank.

Bakura frowned. "You're crying. Why?"

His gruff voice caused a strange dizzying sensation in Ryou's heart. He'd missed that voice badly over the past few days. Before he could gather himself enough to answer though, Bakura's frown deepened. "And why are we… why am I… like this. In physical form, I mean," he added quickly, his eyes suddenly looking everywhere except at Ryou.

It felt as though someone had just driven their fist right into Ryou's chest. He gasped as he found himself unable to breathe because of the pain in his heart. At the same time, he realised that Bakura was no longer hugging him. Embarrassed, he moved, easing himself away as he sat up. He felt the bed shift beneath him and knew that Bakura had sat up too, but he couldn't make himself look.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to reply. "You fell asleep that way." He kept his reply as simple as possible, knowing how confused his yami had to be at that moment.

"I…" Bakura started to speak but Ryou shook his head and looked up at him. One look from his light was enough to silence Bakura.

"No. Please. Let me explain." Ryou was determined to break the news to Bakura as gently as possible. He really didn't want him to get angry again, as he had been when all the trouble had started.

"You cast a spell that would grant you your three greatest desires. That was three days ago." Again, Bakura tried to speak but Ryou shook his head and continued. "The spell… gave you a different form. Apparently, you needed to be in that form in order for your wishes to come to pass. You've been in that form ever since. I spoke to Dark Witch yesterday. She knows of the spell and she said that because of the form you were in, you wouldn't remember much, if anything, of what had happened to you." Ryou looked anxiously at his yami, trying to determine how the news had affected him. Bakura looked like he was in a state of shock.

"This… other form that I was in…" Bakura said slowly.

Ryou shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. He'd been hoping that Bakura wouldn't ask that. "You were a… chibi." He held his breath, waiting for Bakura's reaction.

Bakura closed his eyes but otherwise showed no emotion. "Did I… get my wishes?"

Ryou was surprised by the quiet question, and more than a little disappointed. He had thought that perhaps Bakura would wonder what had happened while he had been a chibi, but instead it seemed that his yami was only interested in knowing if it had all been worth it. "You must have. The spell wasn't supposed to end until you did and you're back to normal now. I don't know what your wishes were though, so I'm afraid that I can't tell you anything more."

Bakura nodded but remained silent. He was silent for so long that Ryou began to wonder if something was wrong. He really didn't want to interrupt his yami's concentration but he was starting to get worried. "Um… Bakura? Do you…" When Bakura made no sign that he was even listening, Ryou gathered his courage. "Do you know what your wishes were?"

"No." For a moment Ryou thought the single word was all the answer that Bakura was going to give. "But like you said, they must have been granted. So it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Ryou looked away, stung by his yami's apparent lack of interest. After everything that had happened… after how he had come to cast the spell in the first place… how could he just dismiss the spell and the wishes so easily? Still, if Bakura didn't care about it, then Ryou knew that nothing he could say or do would make his yami change his incredibly stubborn mind! He took a shaky breath to calm himself before replying. "No, I guess not."

When he felt the tears threatening to fall, they were unexpected and most unwelcome. Ryou didn't want Bakura to know how upset he was, so he did the only thing he could think of doing. He slipped back down into the bed and burrowed under the covers. "Well, it's still early. If you don't mind, I think I'll get some more sleep." He hoped Bakura would think his voice was shaky from tiredness rather than anything else.

"Whatever." At Bakura's unconcerned reply, Ryou pressed his face into his pillow and tried desperately not to make a sound as his tears began to fall.

He felt the bed shift as Bakura got up. After a moment, Ryou risked a glance to see where his yami was. Bakura was stalking towards the window. Ryou watched him for a moment before hiding his face again as another tear slid down his cheek.

- - -

Bakura sat on the window seat, gazing sightlessly out at the early morning sky. His mind was whirling but, despite the conflict raging within his soul, he still sensed the pain and sorrow that his light was trying so hard to keep from him.

He was furious with Ryou. Why did his light have to be so… passive! Instead of facing him, light to yami, so they could have a good argument about what had happened and get it all out in the open, Ryou had closed himself off in his own little world of sadness. A world that Bakura was all too well aware he was not welcome in. True, there was nothing actually stopping him from intruding. Ryou's emotional defenses were laughable and Bakura had never had any trouble getting past them when he wanted to. So why wasn't he doing it?

Bakura sighed as he admitted the truth to himself. Although a part of him wanted to confront Ryou, another part of him was nervous about what would happen if he did. No… not nervous… scared.

'Curse the spell to the Shadows! I should never have cast it. I was a fool to do so. I should have known that it wouldn't do what I wanted it to do. I thought it would make everything right, but it just messed things up even more! Now I can barely tell up from down and Ryou…' Bakura closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain he could feel through his link to his light. 'Ryou is hurting… and it's all my fault.'

Turning his head, Bakura looked over at the boy huddled miserably in the bed. 'Ryou keeps forgetting that I can feel everything he's feeling. He can hide nothing from me. He never could. Unless I allow him to. But at least I can give him the impression that I don't know. He needs that right now. I know him well enough to know that, at least.'

Bakura sighed softly. 'If only I didn't know how he'd react if I told him the truth. He'd be horrified. Mortified. Things would never be the same between us again. No. I can't tell him.'

He looked down at the piece of paper he'd found on the bedside table. He didn't know where it had come from, but it was probably some obscure part of the spell. At least he'd found it before Ryou had seen it. If Ryou had found it first, then Bakura knew he would never have seen it and he was glad that he had. His fingers lightly traced over the two boys in the image and he smiled slightly. 'Oh Ryou… how can I tell you that you're wrong?' He sighed again.

'How can I tell you that I remember everything?'

.

to be continued…


	29. Dream a Little Dream

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Well, here it is! Finally! I apologise for the long delay. This chapter gave me considerable trouble. I only hope you all consider it to be worth the wait. Thank you for your patience and for your encouragement while you were waiting.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: Text in **bold** is being emphasised. Speech in _italics_ is being remembered in a dream.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 29: Dream a Little Dream  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou walked slowly down the driveway of his home, on his way to school. When he reached the footpath, he paused and half-turned to look over his shoulder at the house. His gaze lasted for no more than a moment before he continued walking.

- - -

Bakura allowed the living room curtain to fall back into place as a heavy sigh forced itself free from deep within his soul. He knew his light hadn't seen him. He had been careful not to move the curtain so much that his presence at the window was obvious. But it still felt as though Ryou had been looking directly at him with that sorrowfully wistful gaze of his.

Bakura had become familiar with that gaze over the years. At first he'd seen it in reflections on the rare occasions when he looked through his light's eyes. Later, he'd seen it face to face. Every time it was directed at him, his chest would constrict, as though it was being squeezed by an invisible Shadow Monster. Bakura had always hated that feeling. But lately… he had come to hate the knowledge that someone had put the look on his light's face even more. Especially when he was the 'someone'.

He moved away from the window, his mind a whirling maelstrom of thoughts and emotions. He was so distracted, he was only vaguely aware of going upstairs. It wasn't until he stood in the doorway of Ryou's room that Bakura realised where his traitorous legs had carried him.

For a moment he hesitated, struggling against the sudden, and most unwelcome, urge to throw himself on the bed and… And what? Cry? He scowled at the thought. He hadn't cried since he was a mortal child. Of course, that had only been the day before. He winced at the reminder and quickly crossed to the window, refusing to look at the bed as he passed it.

Curled up on the window seat, Bakura stared sightlessly out at the annoyingly bright and cheerful morning. He fought against the thoughts and images that tried to flood his mind, but one particular image refused to be pushed aside. Ryou's anxious eyes, as they had been an hour earlier when the boy had asked Bakura if he was going to go to school with him or stay home in physical form.

Bakura could still hear his reply, his voice gruff and angry. "I want to be alone today." He closed his eyes, regretting both the harsh tone and the pain his thoughtless words had caused his light. He had known at the time that he was being cruel and unfair. But he hadn't cared. Just the sight of his light at that point had been enough to make him snarl. All he had been able to think about was getting some time to himself. Time for him to work out what in the Shadows that cursed spell had done, and how he was going to get out of the mess he'd made of everything. So, naturally, he'd made things even worse.

"Ra… how did this happen?" Bakura rested his forehead against the cool glass as the words slipped out, an invitation to the memories of the past few days. This time, when the flood came, he allowed it to surge through him. He no longer had the strength to resist it.

- - -

He'd been so furious. A part of him had warned him not to cast the spell. He had known it was wrong for him to do anything like that when he was so angry he wasn't thinking straight. But the only thought Bakura had paid any attention to was the one insisting that if he cast the spell, he would show his light that he was still strong, still powerful, and not the weakling that Ryou and everyone else seemed to think he was. If only he'd listened to the other voice inside his mind. The soft voice with the good advice that he hardly ever listened to. The voice that sounded rather like Ryou's.

But he hadn't listened. He had cast the spell… and it had gone horribly wrong.

One moment there had been pain like nothing he had ever experienced before. A soul-searing agony. Not even the pain he'd felt when he'd first been drawn into the Ring could compare. The next moment, his whole world had turned upside down and inside out.

Now that he was back in his usual form, Bakura was able to work out what had happened. The spell hadn't merely changed his body to its chibi form, it had changed his mind as well. But it wasn't just his way of thinking that had been altered. All of his memories. All of his experiences. All of his life, both mortal and spirit… It had been as though none of it had happened. It had all been erased, leaving him only with the memories of his life up to the age that his body had become. Memories he had long forgotten. Memories he wished he could forget again.

When the spell had taken effect, he had become a child again, but more than that. It had been as though he had gone to sleep in the house where he lived with his parents, and woken to a nightmare. The last thing he had remembered had been the ceiling above the rough box in which he slept, then he had suddenly found himself struggling in cold water with slimy reeds wrapped around his body! He had been terrified! Then…

Then a pair of warm hands had lifted him out of that murky water. He'd looked into those gentle brown eyes and hadn't been able to recognise the emotions filling them. As a child, he had never seen them before. But in his usual form, Bakura knew them all too well. Fear. Anxiety. Concern. All for him. All for his safety and for his sake. But he'd been too young, and too scared, to realise that he was safe.

The bath had been frightening. He'd never been bathed before. Not like that at least. Such gentle hands. So much water. But he'd been too scared to enjoy it. He'd kept wondering where his parents were. He'd kept expecting them to come. His fears had only increased when he'd been carried into the other room. He'd enjoyed the warmth of the hair dryer, but every time Ryou had touched him… He'd kept expecting a sharp slap or a rough swipe.

His parents had never been gentle with him. It hadn't been their way. They were rough people leading rough lives and his birth had brought them nothing but an extra mouth to feed. They hadn't abused him. They had just… ignored him, generally. They had tended to him when necessary, but no more. There had been no hugs purely because they wanted to hold him. His mother had touched him sometimes. He remembered an almost wistful look in her eyes as she ruffled his hair or rubbed his back or stomach to get him to sleep. One time, when he had been ill, he could vaguely remember her rocking him and crying. But then his father had come in and she had put him down again. From his father, there had only ever been harsh criticism and the occasional bruise or welt.

The brush had been the worst though.

Of course, back in ancient times, it had been a comb, but it had still hurt. After washing his hair, his mother would drag that horrible thing through his tangled locks, tugging it relentlessly as she muttered threats about cutting his hair off. She had never done it, of course. His father had forbidden it. Something about a prophecy and how his white hair marked him as playing an important part in it. Bakura had never paid much attention to that. His sole concern had been the pain the comb brought.

His childlike mind had associated Ryou's brush with that same pain. But the boy's patience had eased his fears. In fact, he had even been enjoying the attention by the time it was over. But then, that wasn't surprising. Ryou had always possessed the ability to calm him, to ease his fears and soothe his tempers. Apparently, Bakura hadn't needed to remember that, or even to remember Ryou, in order for the gentle light to have the same effect on him while in chibi form.

Bakura smiled slightly as memories of that first day flooded his mind. At one point, remembering Ryou's first attempt at diapering, he even chuckled. But what he remembered most was the care and concern with which Ryou had treated the tiny chibi. The light had never hesitated to look after the small child he'd been stuck with. He could have called Téa, but he hadn't. He had wanted to look after Bakura himself. Caring for his chibi-yami had been Ryou's only… thought…

Bakura's eyes widened slightly in shock. "Wait… how can I remember that? The link… it was working the whole time? But… I couldn't feel anything through it. I don't remember feeling anything. The spell… it must have blocked it somehow, while I was a chibi. But if so… why can I remember it so clearly now? And why am I talking to myself?" Bakura winced and glanced around, instinctively making sure that he was still alone and no one else had witnessed his one-sided discussion. Fortunately for his ego, the only witness was a small Dark Witch plushie sitting on Ryou's bedside table.

For a moment, Bakura eyed the toy almost wistfully. He started to move, then changed his mind. No, he would not get up and he most certainly would not fetch the toy. He was not in a state of mind that required him to find comfort in a child's plaything. Not yet, anyway. Still, a slight smile flickered across his face as he looked at the toy. It had been nice of Ryou to get it for him. He'd thought so at the time and he'd wanted to say thank you, but he'd been too shy to speak.

A frown creased Bakura's brow at the reminder of what had happened the day after he'd cast the spell. The whole chibi thing aside, it was the second day that had him convinced the spell had gone wrong in some way. Why else would the spell have reset itself the way it had? Sometime during the night, his form had changed again, but his mind… It had been a repeat of what had happened the moment the spell had been cast. His mind had reverted to how it had been at the age his body had become. But in doing so, all of the memories of the previous day had been erased, as if the events had never occurred!

Fortunately, his second chibi form had been old enough to realise that Ryou meant him no harm. He'd still been confused and frightened though. He'd still wondered where his parents were and he'd been sure that they would come and get him.

They had never let him out of their sight for very long. The prophecy again. His father had been adamant that some day Bakura would bring them good fortune. He hadn't been willing to risk anything happening to put that future greatness in doubt. They hadn't paid him much attention, but at least they had never abandoned him. It had been one of the few certainties in his life, as a child.

On that occasion though, although he had been scared and confused in the unfamiliar surroundings, although he had expected his parents to come for him, he had not wanted them to. They would have taken him away and he hadn't wanted to leave the boy with the gentle voice. The boy who knew how to stroke his hair just the way he liked it. The boy who held him close and who made him feel all warm and safe and… wanted.

Bakura frowned as the word echoed through his mind. Somehow, it didn't seem quite right. But he couldn't think of any other. Not just then. It was too hard to think. His head was pounding from the confusion and disorientation caused by his memories of the past two days. The memories were strange; the events in them seen from the perspective of a chibi, but overlaid with the perspective of his older mind as it remembered what had happened! With the addition of all the thoughts and emotions from Ryou's side of the link during that time, it was more than enough to overwhelm Bakura. Trying to sort everything out was making him feel physically ill.

Groaning, Bakura shifted on the window seat but it was no use. He was too ill to get comfortable and the glare from outside was only making him feel worse. Irritated, he got up and pulled the curtains, plunging the room into a more tolerable state of dimness. But that closed off the window seat from the rest of the room. Annoyed at having lost his favourite perch, Bakura decided to go downstairs. Hopefully a lie down on the living room couch would stop his infernal headache.

He had taken only a few steps before the plushie caught his eye again. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the bedside table, the small toy in his hands. He scowled down at the smiling doll. "What are you so happy about?"

As he glared at the Dark Witch plushie, something stirred in his memory. Dark Witch. There was something about her that was tickling the back of his mind. Frowning, Bakura tried to catch the elusive thought. All he remembered was the toy. No… wait… there was something else… Feelings of worry and panic, followed by a great relief. And Dark Witch was connected to it in some way.

Bakura closed his eyes, trying to sift through the thoughts and feelings running riot in his mind. He didn't know what he was looking for, exactly. All he knew was that there was something there, and he wanted to find it! But… there was so much chaos and confusion within his whirling thoughts. It was impossible to find anything specific, let alone something as vague as what he was looking for! The effort alone made his head swim.

Opening his eyes, Bakura swayed dizzily as the room spun around him. He staggered to the bed and dropped onto it with a low groan. He could swear a group of Rock Ogres were dueling inside his head.

The mattress beneath him was soft and, as a wave of illness swept over him, Bakura found himself unable to resist the temptation. He lay down on his side, promising himself that he would only rest for a few minutes. Just until he felt better. It was only as he closed his eyes that he realised he was still holding the Dark Witch plushie.

Part of him wanted to throw it across the room. Most of him said it wasn't worth the bother of moving. A very small part of him timidly suggested that maybe it might be kind of nice to sort of cuddle it… just while he rested.

As his mental and emotional exhaustion claimed him, sending him into a deep sleep, Bakura's arms tightened instinctively around the small toy.

- - -

While Bakura slept, he dreamed. But this was no ordinary dream. The events that had taken place while he'd been a chibi paraded through his mind, but they were not exactly the same. This time, his mind was not that of a scared child, but of his older self. Also, Ryou's thoughts and emotions came through their link loud and clear.

The dream covered the whole chibi-experience, from the moment Bakura had cast the spell to the moment he had returned to his teenage form. It completely missed only the times when both Bakura and Ryou had been asleep, but it did skim over parts where nothing much had happened.

In true dream fashion, time was not a constant. In some places, the dream ran quickly, the events passing through Bakura's subconscious mind in a blur. At other times though, the events played out as they had in reality, down to the last moment. The final transformation sequence was one of those. Every thought, every feeling, was recreated exactly.

The dream continued until the moment when Bakura had realised he was hugging Ryou and had tried to cover up his embarrassment by withdrawing from his light. Physically and emotionally.

- - -

__

"And why are we… why am I… like this. In physical form, I mean."

With the words echoing in his mind, Bakura's eyes fluttered open.

He frowned, momentarily disorientated. He hadn't woken up in Ryou's room all that often, so it took him a little while to realise where he was. Once he did, the rest of his memories from that morning flooded back as well. He sat up warily, expecting to still feel the headache and illness from before. He blinked in surprise when neither returned to plague him, then sighed in relief and glanced down. "Good. Apparently I've recovered from… whatever in the Shadows was wrong with me earlier."

He froze as he realised he was talking to the small plushie he was… oh Ra… hugging… "No. I am not talking to a toy. I am… talking to myself. Yes. That's it. Myself." He carefully placed the Dark Witch doll on the bedside table, eyeing it warily as he stood up and backed away. Just in case.

Once his embarrassment wore off enough for him to think rationally, he frowned. "How long was I asleep? What time is it?" Choosing to ignore the fact that he was still talking to the plu… himself… he strode to the window and pulled back the curtain, then stared in surprise at the late afternoon sky. "I slept all day? Oh great. I was only going to rest for a short time! Ryou will be home soon and I can't face him. Not until I know what happened and why I became a…" Bakura trailed off, frowning as he felt the lie in his words. "No… that is… not the reason."

His eyes widened in shock as he realised something. All of the confusion and chaos within his mind… was gone. Instead of the multiple perspectives he had found impossible to sort through, there was now only one set of events in his memory. The version of events that he had dreamed. It was all there. Everything he needed to know in one tidy, simple to comprehend and impossible to confuse, package.

In that moment, the truth hit him. He sank down onto the windowsill, his breath coming erratically as his heart raced. "I… It's not that I can't face him until I know what happened and why I became a chibi. It doesn't even have anything to do with those cursed wishes. I can't face him because…"

Bakura's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles went white. He knew what he had to do, although he had never imagined that he'd even consider doing such a thing. It was unheard of! It was horrifying! It was more than a little nauseating. But… If he was ever to be able to face his light again…

Jumping up, the ex-tombrobber hurried out of the room. A few minutes later, the slam of the kitchen door echoed through the empty house.

- - -

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. The halls filled with laughing, chattering students as they collected things from their lockers and started for home. There was so much noise, Ryou didn't hear his name being called. It was only when he felt a tug on his arm that he realised someone had been trying to get his attention. Turning around, he realised his mistake. Not 'someone'. His friends.

Yugi eyed the taller boy in concern as he guided him off to one side of the hall so they could talk without being in everyone's way. "Hey Ryou, are you okay? You've been so quiet today." It was true. Aside from confirming that Bakura was no longer a chibi, Ryou had barely spoken a word all day.

"Yeah. Is it…? I mean… Bakura, did he…? Um…" Tristan smiled sheepishly and ran his hand through his hair in a gesture of confusion, apparently unable to find the right words to express his thoughts.

"We haven't seen Bakura since the thing in the park the other day. He wasn't too happy with us. He cooled off yet?" Joey ignored Tristan's nudge and continued to dive in headfirst. "We didn't mean to get him mad. We were just helping out. You know that, right?"

The anxiety in Joey's eyes revealed the real reason for his question, and caused Ryou's initial irritation to fade. They weren't asking because they were worried that Bakura had taken out his anger on his light, they were worried that Ryou was upset with them for making Bakura angry in the first place!

Ryou smiled, although it didn't light up his face as it normally did. It didn't even reach his eyes. "I know. I'm very grateful to you both for helping us." His eyes went from Joey to Tristan, then turned to Yugi. "I'm sorry if I worried you. I just… had rather a lot on my mind today."

Yugi smiled. Before he could respond though, Joey slapped Ryou cheerfully on the back, almost knocking the boy over. "Great! Now that's settled, how about we all go back to Yugi's? His Gramps got some new cards in yesterday, right Yug?"

"Right!" Yugi beamed. "How about it, Ryou?"

"Well…" Ryou hesitated for a moment, torn. If he went with his friends, he might get distracted from the thoughts and sorrow that had been plaguing him all day. Even an hour's respite from his worries sounded incredibly good to him. On the other hand though, all he really wanted to do was go home and see Bakura. Just to make sure he was all right. His yami's behaviour had been bothering Ryou, to the point where he was convinced that something was wrong. Maybe the spell hadn't worked properly. If it made him a chibi again for some reason…

Ryou ruthlessly pushed the thought out of his mind before he panicked. There was no sense in thinking such things. Especially since there hadn't even been a slight hint that something like that might happen.

"Thank you, but I really should get home." Even though Bakura was probably fine, there was definitely something bothering him. Ryou knew he needed to talk to his yami. The problem would be in getting Bakura to talk to him!

- - -

Ryou walked out of the school building with the others. He was giggling at something Yugi had said when Joey's voice caught his attention. "Hey, isn't that Bakura?"

"What? Where? Oh yeah, it is too." Tristan glanced at Ryou. "You didn't say he was picking you up."

"I… I didn't know." Ryou had frozen in his tracks at the sight of the white-haired figure leaning against the pillar on one side of the school gates. He stared at his yami in shock for a long moment before realising that his friends had also stopped walking and were now staring at him curiously. He could feel the heat rising into his cheeks. "Um… well I'd better go… I'll see you all tomorrow!"

Joey looked thoughtfully at Bakura. "We might as well go over and say hi. Be rude not to, right?" He slung his arm around Ryou's shoulder and started moving towards the gate again. "'Sides, he's already seen us."

Sure enough, Bakura had shifted position. He was now standing tall and still with his arms crossed and an irritated look on his face. He was also glaring straight at them. Ryou shivered slightly. Judging by the look, whatever Bakura's reason for being there… he wasn't happy about it.

"Oh dear."

Bakura continued to glare at them as they approached. Ignoring Joey's cheerful wave, his frown darkened. He slowly looked from Joey to Tristan to Yugi and finally to Ryou.

"I need to speak with you."

"Well, we'll just be going then…" Tristan started to walk by, but Bakura pinned him with a glare.

"**All** of you."

To be continued…


	30. Unexpected Truths

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Text in **bold** is being emphasised.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: This is part of my special Christmas update, a thank-you gift for everyone who's reading my stories. I've updated all five of my ongoing Yu-Gi-Oh! stories and posted a one-shot Christmas fic too. Merry Christmas everyone!

**Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 30: Unexpected Truths**  
By Shadow's Mirror

For a long moment after Bakura's surprising statement, the silence was so thick it could have been cut with the dagger the ex-tombrobber most likely had secreted in his clothes.

Joey glanced at Ryou, but the white-haired boy seemed to have frozen, speechless in shock. So Joey did what he always did. He jumped in head-first. "You want to talk to me, Yug and Tristan, as well as Ryou? Sure, I'm game." He winced as someone pushed past him from behind, knocking his hip with their schoolbag in the process. "How 'bout we talk somewhere a bit less busy? Like… the game shop!"

Bakura shook his head. "No. Not there. The park." He turned as if to leave. A commanding voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Luring us into a trap, Bakura?" The tone was faintly mocking, but there was also a hint of wariness.

"Just want to meet on neutral ground." Bakura didn't bother turning around. He just continued to walk. He knew they'd follow, if only out of curiosity.

He was right.

- - -

"Very well. We are here. Now then, what was it you wished to discuss with us all, Bakura?" Yami crossed his arms and frowned at the other ex-tombrobber.

Bakura returned Yami's frown with an annoyed glare. "I said Yugi, not you. Get him out here."

Turning away from the startled ex-Pharaoh, Bakura focused his attention on Joey and Tristan. His gaze flickered over Ryou in passing and he almost winced at the anxious look in his other half's eyes. Forcing himself to ignore his light for the moment, he frowned at the other two boys.

Tristan's eyes held a familiar 'is he about to send my soul to the Shadow Realm?' expression, while Joey had his usual 'he's looking at me funny, should I duck?' look. Bakura noted both reactions with a rush of smug pride that faded when he remembered why he was there. His frown became a glare.

"Thank you."

Bakura was acutely aware of every look of shock his words earned. He could almost physically feel the five pairs of eyes on him. Five? A quick glance confirmed the count. Yami was now standing beside Yugi. Apparently he had decided to take on physical form to watch over the proceedings, rather than simply return control to his light and watch from his soulroom. Bakura was very annoyed at that. He hadn't wanted to do this in front of the ex-Pharaoh. He should have known he wouldn't have a choice.

Someone dared to speak to him. He turned, channelling his irritation at Yami into a glare.

"Huh? Did you just say what I think you said?" Joey stared at him, stunned. Everyone else had apparently been struck speechless.

Bakura's eyes narrowed. "Don't make me repeat myself. Just because I thanked you for helping me with those bullies the other day, don't think that means I won't seal your souls away if you annoy me."

"Uh… Right! Sure! Hey, no problem!" Joey relaxed slightly and even managed a grin. "You're welcome, by the way. Not that we did much. You pretty much had them beat!"

Bakura smiled very slightly at that, accepting the comment as it was intended; an acknowledgment of his fighting skill.

"He almost got Ryou… Ow!"

Bakura glanced over his shoulder to see what was going on. He blinked. Apparently the source of the interruption to Yami's lecture had been the introduction of Yugi's elbow to Yami's side. Bakura would have smirked at the shocked look the ex-Pharaoh was giving his light, except that he was too annoyed.

He really hated it when Yami, curse him to the Shadows, was right.

"I got Ryou beaten up. No 'almost' about it." Bakura's voice was almost a growl.

He had turned back to Joey, but his harsh words were pitched so the others could easily hear them too, as proven by the soft gasp from behind him. Bakura forced himself not to turn around and look at his light. It was bad enough he could feel Ryou's shock through their link. If he looked at him, he'd never be able to say what needed to be said. He'd be too busy apologising to him for what had happened.

"I used to fight for everything. Food. Treasure. Survival. Old habits die hard. I still enjoy a good fight. The other day… They started in on Ryou and I was in the mood to teach them a lesson. I thought I could handle it, but I underestimated them." Bakura winced. He hated admitting it, especially in front of the Pharaoh, but he owed his light an explanation and the others had earned the right to one as well. They also needed to know the truth. His pride would not allow anything less.

"I underestimated them… and paid the price with a few bruises. But I did not need any help."

"Bakura! You just cannot admit that you were wrong, can you?" Yami's voice was hard and cold.

Bakura whirled around, glaring at his ancient rival. "I already did! I could not have won that fight. I know it. But that does **not** mean I needed help and it certainly does not mean Ryou was ever in any danger." His eyes narrowed, gleaming with fury and indignation. "Just because I'm not a self-righteous, ooh-look-at-me-I'm-so-good-I-won't-do-bad-things-in-front-of-my-light ex-Pharaoh… I would no sooner endanger my light than you would yours." He growled the words then turned back to the other boys. He fixed them with an intent glare.

"I have thanked you for your help solely because you gave it willingly. You were not to know I was about to use my usual way of dealing with the likes of those fools. You came into the fight just as I realised I would need to. Had you waited another minute, the fight would have been over." Bakura watched as understanding dawned on Joey and Tristan's faces, quickly followed by embarrassment.

"Uh. Yeah. Good point." Joey grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "We didn't think of that. Actually, we didn't think at all. We just saw you in trou… er… in the middle of those goons and charged in to help. We didn't mean to offend you or anything. We'll stop and think, next time."

Bakura's glare intensified and he growled. "No! Next time it might be Ryou in that situation. If you ever see him in trouble and don't help him, I'll send your soul to the Shadow Realm!"

Joey blinked and then grinned, nodding. "I get it. What if it's you? Will you get mad again?"

Bakura's glare relaxed into a smirk. "Probably. Deal with it." Joey snickered and Tristan finally relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

With that part of the ordeal over, Bakura turned his attention to the next person on his list.

He stalked over to Yugi, noting the boy's wide eyes with immense satisfaction. He also noted Yami's sudden tenseness. "Relax, Pharaoh. I'm not going to hurt your precious little light." Much to Bakura's surprise, his words had a curious effect on both boys. A hint of colour appeared in Yami's cheeks and as for Yugi… If he blushed any brighter, he ran the risk of being mistaken for a stoplight.

Filing that interesting reaction away for potential future blackmail, Bakura stopped just in front of Yugi and looked down at him. He took a deep breath, steadying himself for what he was about to do.

"Yugi. I'm sorry."

"W…what?" Yugi squeaked, staring up at the taller boy in shock.

Bakura sighed. He had hoped the boy would make it easy on him, but no. It looked like he needed to explain. "I'm sorry for sealing your soul in that card the other day. You did nothing to deserve it. All you did was show concern for Ryou. I would expect nothing less from you, or any of his friends."

"Oh! That's all right. I know you were upset at the time." Yugi smiled hesitantly. Bakura nodded, relieved that his apology had been accepted so easily.

"No, that is no excuse for his behaviour, Yugi!"

Maybe not so easily, after all. Bakura turned an irritated glare onto Yugi's darker half. "This doesn't concern you, Yami."

Yami frowned at him. "Oh? Would you ignore it if someone sealed **your** light's soul into a card?" At his opponent's wince he nodded. "I thought not." He arched an eyebrow. "Since you appear to be in a mood for conciliatory gestures, I believe you owe me an apology also." His gaze locked with Bakura's and he smiled slightly, waiting for a response and ignoring Yugi's anxious tugs on his jacket.

Bakura stalked over to stand in front of the irritation that was the ex-Pharaoh. He looked down at him, pleased more than ever that he had the advantage in height. "I do? If you insist." He smirked. "I'm sorry I sealed your light's soul in a card. It was not his fault that you were too much of an idiot to realise how angry I was and pushed me until I could not take it any longer. Next time, I'll seal your soul instead of his. Happy now?" He showed Yami that he wasn't the only one with archable eyebrows.

Yami's eyes narrowed. Yugi went very still. Joey and Tristan began to back away. Ryou gasped. The air grew thick with tension as the silence stretched from one moment to the next. Then Yami smiled.

"Apology accepted, Bakura. Now, if that is all, we should be going. Grandpa has some new cards in. You and Ryou are… welcome to join us, if you wish?"

Bakura was only a little surprised by Yami's reaction. Apparently, his rival had realised that he was also partially to blame for the incident. Even so, Bakura wasn't quite ready to test their current level of understanding. "Thank you, but no. I have… other plans. Ryou…" Bakura paused for a moment, unsure of his light's wishes in the matter and oddly hesitant to use their link to find out. Then a gentle hand rested on his shoulder and he was startled to realise Ryou was right behind him.

"I will go with Bakura."

- - -

Bakura remained silent during the walk home. His hands in his pockets, he appeared lost in thought, but really every bit of his attention was focused on the boy walking beside him. He knew he needed to speak to his light, but he really wasn't sure what he should say. There was so much… but most of it would reveal more than he wanted Ryou to know. Namely, the fact that he remembered everything that had happened to him as a chibi! But still… there was a tension in the silence between them. It wasn't the usual comfortable silence that it would normally have been. Bakura sighed softly. Maybe if he started with something small?

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

Bakura and Ryou stopped, staring at each other in surprise. Ryou had voiced his appreciation at the same time as Bakura's apology. They both started to speak together again and stopped. Ryou giggled softly and gestured for Bakura to go first.

"What are you saying? Why are you…?"

Ryou smiled shyly. "I know how difficult all that was for you. I…" Colour flooded his cheeks and he bit his lip. "I know you had your own reasons for doing it but… I'm glad you did. So… Thank you."

"I did it for you." Bakura wasn't sure what made him say it. Although it was the truth, he definitely had not intended to admit it! Still… his light's astonished delight was worth the rush of heat into his face.

"For… me?" Ryou's eyes were wide and his blush deepening by the moment. "I… I… I never expected…"

"I know." Bakura sighed. "You never do. All the things I have done… and yet you have never demanded a word of apology from me. Not that I would have listened… then." He sighed again. "That's why I was so shocked by what you said the other day."

Ryou frowned slightly as he tried to remember. "I don't…"

Bakura looked away, his voice low as he quoted Ryou, word for word. "'It's about time you learned to apologise for your own mistakes!'" Ryou gasped and Bakura sighed. "You were right. So… I did."

"Bakura! I… I didn't mean…" Ryou's shock was cut off with another gasp as Bakura suddenly turned and grasped his arms, not quite hard enough to hurt.

"I'm sorry, Ryou. I am so sorry. I should never have fought them. I should have just sealed them, like I usually do. Your body… It was injured because of me. I felt the injuries. I…" His eyes widened in alarm as he realised something. "Ryou… You're not still hurt? Are you? Oh Ra… Ryou…" Bakura had to force himself back under his usual control. He was dangerously close to trembling. He swallowed but refused to give up. There were still things he needed to say.

"The other day… I was angry. So angry. I knew I'd put us in danger and I was furious with myself for that. Then... what Tristan said… It shocked me to realise how much I'd changed, and… it just got to me. I was still fuming when I ran into Yugi. You know how **that** turned out." He grimaced. "The whole way home, I could feel your disappointment… and your fear. You were afraid of me. How I'd reacted… It had reminded you of how I used to be. I was prepared to face your disappointment, even your fear, but your anger… I wasn't expecting it. I didn't know how to deal with it. I reacted badly."

"Bakura…" Ryou's attempt to speak was halted by Bakura's hand covering his mouth.

"Let me finish. While I can." Ryou's eyes searched Bakura's for a moment, then he nodded.

"What I said that day… what I did… I'm not proud of myself for any of it. But still, I wouldn't have faced the others about it. I would have just let it go. Like I always have." Bakura winced. "But you were right. I did need to say something to them. Joey and Tristan, even Yugi… They were just being themselves. Helpful. Interfering. Your friends. I meant what I said to them today. Every word." He closed his eyes and sighed again.

"I meant what I said to Yami too. What happened there, it wasn't all my fault. He knows me well enough to know when I'm angry. He deliberately pushed me too far. But I shouldn't have taken it out on Yugi. That wasn't right." He opened his eyes again, locking his gaze on a nearby tree rather than look into his light's eyes.

"I owe you an apology too, Ryou. But I treated you so badly… I don't think I could apologise enough for everything I said and did. You have every right to be mad at me. I know I hurt you. But… please… Don't lock your anger away. I deserve everything you want to say to me. This morning… I could feel how hurt you were, but you never said a word. Your silence… I can take whatever you say or do to me. Anything at all… except your silence."

Having finally said everything he'd intended to say, and quite a bit more, Bakura waited tensely for his light's response. But when it came, he definitely wasn't expecting the form it took.

Arms slipped around him, holding him gently as Ryou leaned against him, his head resting on Bakura's shoulder as he spoke quietly. "I didn't say anything this morning because I didn't know what to say. I was so relieved to have you back to normal, but I felt guilty too. A part of me was… missing your chibi form. Also… you seemed a bit… distant. Your side of the link was shut so tightly… but I could still feel a hint of your confusion so I know it was strong. I wanted to give you time to… recover… I guess."

Bakura slowly eased his arms around Ryou, returning the hug. "That explains what I was getting from your side of the link. Except for the sadness. I could understand if you'd been happy but… tears?"

Ryou tightened his hold for a moment. "I was happy that you were back to normal. It was just that… that…" His hold tightened again, but this time he didn't let go. "I'd been so worried! Seeing you like that… It scared me! You didn't know me and you were so small and so thin and I was so frightened that I'd never see you again and then you were back to normal and… and…" He took a deep breath, trying to control his whirling emotions before he did something truly embarrassing, like burst into tears. "And you just dismissed it, like it was unimportant. You asked if your wishes had been granted and… that was it. You didn't ask anything about it. You didn't even seem interested in it. I… I felt like it had all been for… nothing…" His voice trailed off.

"Ryou…" Bakura whispered his light's name as he tightened his hold on the boy, trying to comfort him even though he felt dangerously close to needing comfort himself. He debated admitting his secret, but immediately rejected the idea. There were a few things that he still needed to sort out in his own mind. He wasn't quite ready to face Ryou over some of the things he remembered. Instead, he just held him, his hands lightly rubbing his light's back in what he hoped was a calming manner. It seemed to work. A few minutes later, Ryou stirred and slowly moved away.

"I… Oh dear…" Realising what he'd been doing, and for how long, Ryou's face flushed even more brightly than Yugi's had earlier. Bakura blinked and made a mental note to find out from Marik if it was an ability that all the lights shared. Then, since Ryou was showing the first signs of an attack of acute embarrassment, Bakura searched his mind for something to distract him with.

"Come on, Ryou. It's getting dark. Let's go home." Bakura started to walk away.

From where they were, there were two paths that would take them to the gate leading out to their street. One ran directly to the gate, the other wound through one of the park's themed gardens first. It took an extra ten minutes to go that way, and Bakura hated to waste time like that. Whenever he went somewhere, he always chose the most direct way to get there.

Ryou blinked and frowned slightly, not moving. "Bakura? Why are you going that way? That's the way to the…" He trailed off as Bakura turned to look at him. His yami was smiling ever so slightly.

"I thought I'd go this way today. Are you coming with me or not?"

A slow smile lit up Ryou's face. Nodding eagerly, he hurried to catch up to his yami. Side by side, they began heading home along the path Bakura had chosen, the one that wound through the rose garden. Ryou's favourite part of the park.

To be continued…


	31. Another Fight

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well here it is folks! Sorry for the delay, this is a pivotal chapter and I had to make sure I got it right. Big thanks to my beta reader, Vash is my Angel for her help with this one. And so... the last arc in this story begins.

****

Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 31: Another Fight  
By Shadow's Mirror

It had been a week since Bakura's startling apology to Ryou and his friends. A blissful, peaceful and more or less uneventful week, when everything had been as near to perfect as Ryou could hope for.

Which was saying something, since he was living with a dark spirit who had a habit of getting into trouble, and who's newest hobby was taking on physical form whenever the urge to do so caught him.

Whether it was appropriate for him to be in that form, at that time, or not.

Perhaps it was because he never wanted to have to apologise for anything again, but Bakura had been remarkably well behaved. In fact, he'd been a little too quiet for Ryou's liking. The light wasn't used to having his yami sitting silently at the kitchen table, watching him as he prepared a meal. His helping Ryou with the dishes, without having to be pouted at even once, was almost unheard of. Then there were the hours Bakura spent sitting on the windowseat in Ryou's room.

Of course, there had been a few awkward moments when Ryou had, without thinking, mentioned something that had happened while Bakura had been a chibi. Every time, Ryou had soon noticed his yami's absence and gone looking for him, always finding him sitting in the windowseat and staring out into the distance. What puzzled Ryou the most though was Bakura's expression at those times. It seemed to be a mix of sadness and thoughtfulness.

Ryou hadn't wanted to push his yami about his reactions, so he had remained silent. The days had passed with no indication from Bakura that he wanted to talk about it at all, though. Ryou had slowly become resigned to the fact that they would probably never discuss what had happened while Bakura had been a chibi.

Apart from that, everything had been as it usually was. Ryou had gone back to his regular routine as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened and Bakura had resumed his apparently random use of his physical form spell.

Ryou was becoming quite used to suddenly finding Bakura standing next to him or behind him, so it wasn't very often that he was startled by it. There had been a bit of embarrassment when Bakura had taken on physical form that morning, though.

Ryou had been in the bath at the time.

Which of them had been more embarrassed by his yami's sudden appearance standing beside the bathtub, Ryou wasn't sure, but at least they now knew that the spell dressed Bakura in a copy of whatever his light was wearing at the moment that the spell was cast.

- - -

Just thinking about the bathroom incident sent heat rushing into Ryou's cheeks, so he was very glad that he'd managed to keep from thinking about it for as long as he had. Now that school was over for the day, there was no one to ask him why he was blushing so deeply, or why he had suddenly stopped still on the path. Which meant that he had no need to reveal either the image of his yami that was filling his mind, or the fact that he'd stopped to give himself a moment to calm his racing heart.

Since he was on his way to meet Yugi, Joey, Tristan and Téa at the library, Ryou had no wish to be all flushed and panting when he arrived there. He really did not want his yami to send Joey to the Shadow Realm for smirking and making a rude comment about becoming overly excited about visiting the library.

Ryou had learned to be careful. That exact series of events had happened before.

Twice.

- - -

The path to the library wound through one of the many parks in Domino City. Unlike the park nearer to Ryou's home though, this one had been built on a slight hill. The landscapers had been very creative and built the various garden areas on different levels. Ryou had stopped in one of the built-up areas, on a shaded part of the path a few feet away from the wide stone steps that connected it to an area that had been built to resemble a secluded sunken garden.

Whenever Ryou walked to the library, he always took the path that led through this section of the park. It was not the most direct route, but the view of the sunken garden from the top of the steps was more than worth the few extra minutes of walking.

The garden was all green. The low hedges set out in neat patterns around the central fountain were green. The soft grass that covered the ground was green. The ivy covering the walls on either side of the garden was so dense that there was no stone in sight, just a mass of green vines and leaves. Even the old stone statues and the fountain in the middle of the garden were so weathered and covered with moss that they appeared to be greeny-grey. There was only one non-green thing in the garden and that was the water that bubbled out of the fountain and then cascaded in a silver arch into the stone bowl. The effect was a garden that was not only tranquil, but had an old-world feel that Ryou adored.

He was standing at the top of the steps, letting the peace of the garden wash over him and settle his thoughts into more library-orientated directions, when Ryou suddenly realised that he was no longer alone. As his skin prickled in warning, he slowly turned to see who had joined him. At the sight of the ten burly teenagers stalking towards him, Ryou felt an icy chill race up his spine. Memories of his last encounter with the group flooded his mind and he fought to control the paralysing fear he felt at the sight of their leering faces.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here, boys. It's that little white-haired freak who thought he was so tough the other day." Keaven Yamahaka moved to the front of the group and sneered down at Ryou.

"Not looking so sure of yourself today, are you, little freak. What's the matter? Your little friends not around to save you this time?" He smirked and reached out, grabbing the terrified boy by his collar and jerking him forward so he could snarl into his face. "Guess what, freak. It's payback time."

"N... No... Please, I..." Before Ryou could get out another word, they were on him.

The boys were all taller, stronger and more brawny than Ryou. They were also well versed in fighting and even more practised in beating weaker kids and teens up. They came at Ryou hard and fast, giving him no time to defend himself, even if he had known how to.

They punched and kicked him, but the only hit he really noticed was the powerful blow to his stomach that came courtesy of Keaven Yamahaka himself. It was strong enough to knock him off his feet and send him flying.

- - -

One moment, Bakura was enjoying a very pleasant dream in his soulroom. The next, he was wide awake and growling in rage as he felt his light being attacked. Another moment later, much to his astonishment for he had not had time to cast it, Bakura felt the familiar sensation of the physical form spell taking hold. He was pulled from his soulroom and found himself in his own body, facing a group of late-teens he knew all too well. "Hello boys."

Bakura didn't give them time to get over their shock at his sudden appearance. He hit them right where it hurt. Their leader. The golden eye glowed on his forehead and the gang's supposedly invincible leader fell without a single blow being exchanged.

It was not a case of showing off his power. He simply wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible, before they had the chance to get the upper hand. If there was one thing Bakura had learned from his previous fight with them, it was that he shouldn't underestimate their strength, or overestimate his own.

"Boss? Hey Boss? Hey guys! The Boss is hurt!" One of the other teens began to panic and, like dominoes falling one after the other, the others followed his lead. When they got no response from their leader, they eyed Bakura in sudden wariness and suspicion.

"Hey! You freak! What did you do to him?" One of them snarled and tried to hit him.

Bakura blocked the clumsy punch with ease and snarled right back. "I taught him a lesson and I'm going to teach it to the rest of you too, if you don't get out here right now. And take that useless heap of garbage with you." He threw a disgusted look at their fallen leader.

The guy who had dared speak to Bakura started to reply, but one of the others grabbed his arm. "No! You saw what he did! He didn't even touch the boss! He's... He's not human! Let's get out of here!"

With one last look at Bakura, the Yamahaka Gang turned on their heels and fled, a couple of them struggling under the weight of their unconscious leader.

- - -

Bakura sneered as he watched the bullies flee. "That's right, run like the spineless cowards you are!" He laughed out loud as one of them tripped over his own feet in his haste to escape.

"See, Ryou? I showed those idiots a thing or two! Nothing to it!" Bakura's eyes were gleaming with satisfaction as he turned to smirk at his light. Then his smile faded into a look of confusion. "Ryou?"

He had thought that Ryou was standing behind him, but there was no one there. Wondering where his light was, Bakura looked around.

Then he saw the crumpled form lying silent and still at the bottom of the stairs.

"Ryou!"

To be continued...


	32. Reflecting on the Past

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

**Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 32: Reflecting on the Past**  
By Shadow's Mirror

"Ryou!"

Bakura's panicked shout rang through the air as he hurried down the wide stone steps, almost falling in his haste to get to the boy lying silent and still at the base of them.

The yami dropped to his knees beside the crumpled figure of his light and reached for him, then hesitated, his instinctive movement stopped by the pure terror that flooded through his heart. He took a deep breath and tried again, finally managing to touch a hesitant hand to Ryou's shoulder. Bakura shook his light, ever so gently. "R...Ryou. Ryou, wake up. Please... Please, wake up." His voice came out as barely more than a whisper.

Ryou did not stir.

For just a moment, Bakura's mind was filled with an overwhelming and paralysing fear. Then he shook his head and forced himself to think. 'I have to get him home.'

He started to reach for him, but stopped as he realised something. 'Wait... Am I supposed to move him? What if he's hurt and I make it worse? Should I go for help? No, I can't leave him alone. I... I don't know what to do. My light... Ryou... I... I don't know how to help you.' He looked down and noticed with shock that his hands were trembling.

Closing his eyes, Bakura fought back the fear that was once again rising within him. Ryou was hurt and in need of help. This was no time for him to be afraid. He had to be decisive. He had to get Ryou the help he needed. Since he couldn't go for that help, he would have to find a way to get the help to come to them.

The thought crystalised in Bakura's mind and he opened his eyes, once again the decisive yami who was always in control of the situation. He knew what he had to do.

Bakura pulled his deck out of his pocket and concentrated, then plucked the top card off the deck. A few moments later, the one he had summoned was standing a few feet away.

Dark Witch blinked and looked around, then gasped as she spotted Ryou and Bakura. "Master Ryou!" She dropped to the ground beside him and placed one hand on his back. As her hand began to faintly glow, she looked to Bakura for an explanation.

"There was a gang of bullies. One moment I was in my soulroom, the next I was in physical form, fighting them off. They must have pushed him down the stairs just before I appeared. I didn't know. I thought he was behind me... until I turned around and saw him." Bakura bit his lip, the memory causing the fear to return to his heart and mind. He shook it off as best he could and looked up, into the gentle eyes of his favourite monster. "I... I do not know what to do," he whispered, pushing aside his pride to admit it. What did a little pride matter when his light was hurt?

Dark Witch smiled gently at Bakura. "Fear not, dear Master. You chose well when you summoned me. I may not have the healing arts, but I can sense injuries. Master Ryou is not seriously harmed. I sense bruising, especially in his ribs and right shoulder. His right wrist is also sprained. I suspect he landed on that side. However, apart from that, he is unharmed."

Bakura tried to speak, failed and tried again. "B...But... he is unconscious. Why?"

Dark Witch moved her hand, gently brushing it over Ryou's hair. She frowned slightly. "I believe he struck his head as he landed. There is a rather nasty bruise."

The white-haired yami slumped, relief coursing through him. His fear gone, one thought rose above all others. "I need to take him home."

"Of course, dear Master." Dark Witch smiled at Bakura. "I will assist you."

Bakura shook his head, looking as serious as if he was in an important duel. "Thank you, but no. This is... something I need to do by myself."

Dark Witch arched an eyebrow. "As slight as he is, he is too heavy for you to carry him all that way."

Bakura looked down at his light and shook his head. "I can do it. I will do it." Ryou was his light. It was his responsibility to get him home. No matter how impractical, he simply couldn't bear to have anyone, not even Dark Witch, help him with that.

It was his responsibility. It was also his right and his dearest wish.

The female Shadow Monster sighed and shook her head. "Very well. If you are determined to do so, at least allow me to make it a little easier for you." She stroked Ryou's hair and whispered something. A pale silver light flickered over Ryou's body for a moment, then vanished again. Dark Witch smiled gently at Bakura as he arched an eyebrow at her. "I have made him lighter, so you will be able to carry him home. It will last until you place him on his bed."

Bakura smiled slightly and nodded. "Thank you." He could accept that much, at least.

Dark Witch smiled in return. "You are most welcome, my dear Master. With that, I shall take my leave of you. If you require my assistance again, you have only to call." She bowed her head and a moment later had vanished in a spiral of shadow.

The white-haired yami carefully gathered his light into his arms and stood, pleased to find that Dark Witch's spell had made Ryou about half as heavy as he normally was. He held him close and set off for home, whispering softly to the unconscious boy as he walked. "Do not worry, my light. I will look after you. Just as you have so often looked after me, during these past few months."

- - -

Bakura never could recall the long and tiring journey home. When he looked back on that day afterwards, all he remembered was the feeling of mixed relief and anxiety when he finally laid his light on Ryou's bed. Relief that he had managed to bring Ryou home, anxiety that the boy had not stirred even once on the way there.

- - -

"My light." Bakura whispered the words as he gently stroked Ryou's hair back off his forehead. He allowed himself only that brief moment of contact though, before he began the task of getting the injured boy changed into his pajamas and settled comfortably beneath the covers, his injured wrist carefully bandaged.

When he was satisfied that there was nothing more he could do for Ryou until he woke, Bakura stood by the side of the bed and looked down into his light's face. Immediately, images began to flash through his mind. Most of them were of Ryou smiling brightly at him on various occasions, but there were other images as well.

Bakura remembered Ryou's concerned look as he had tucked him into bed, when he'd fallen ill the first time he'd cast the Physical Form spell. Then there had been Ryou's embarrassed blush as he had admitted that he wished to go to the dance with 'Kura', during the time Bakura had accidentally turned himself into a girl. Or how could Bakura ever forget the very gentle look Ryou had given him after he had coaxed him out from under the bed, while Bakura was in kitten form. Not to mention Ryou's proud smile after Bakura had repaired a little girl's favourite card and restored her best friend to her, on Christmas Eve.

All of those images made Bakura feel oddly warm, but they were not the ones that made him turn and leave his light's bedside. He was unable to bear watching Ryou lying so still as those other scenes ran through his mind.

He sat on the windowseat and drew his knees up to his chin, then rested his head against the glass, welcoming the coolness against his cheek. Closing his eyes, he focused on the images that had been haunting his mind for the past week.

His memories from his time as a chibi.

- - -

He'd had plenty of time to analyse everything that had happened since then. More than once he'd had to escape to the windowseat to avoid Ryou seeing the blush that settled on his cheeks whenever certain memories came to mind. He knew Ryou was worried about him, but he couldn't admit the truth. He couldn't tell him that he was coming here so his light wouldn't see him blushing! He had a reputation to protect, after all.

He was Yami Bakura. He did not blush.

He was not hiding from his light either. It was more of a strategic withdrawing.

But he had never been able to think for very long. Ryou had always grown worried and come in search of him.

Bakura would have given anything to have Ryou interrupt his thoughts at that moment.

He closed his eyes, trying not to think about how long it had been since the accident and how his light still had not stirred. For once, he found solace in his chibi memories. By concentrating on them, he didn't notice the passage of time as much.

For the past few days, whenever he had thought of those days he had spent as a chibi, being cared for by Ryou, strange new thoughts and feelings had been growing inside him. No, correction, they were not new and they had been growing inside him for longer than a few days. If he really admitted the truth to himself, they had been born on the day that Ryou had found him, wandering cold and scared in his magic-less human form.

He still remembered the relief he had felt when his light had impulsively hugged him.

Exactly what those feelings were, he still hadn't quite sorted out. He hadn't really wanted to examine them all that closely. But now, with Ryou lying unconscious on the other side of the room, examining his thoughts and emotions was what Bakura found himself doing.

By the time Ryou finally stirred, almost two hours later, Bakura knew what he needed to do. What he wanted to do. What he was afraid to do, as he had never been afraid of anything before in all the years he had existed as either a human or the Spirit of the Ring.

He had to tell Ryou the truth.

As he moved quickly to Ryou's bedside, Bakura only hoped that he could find the words he needed to tell his light what he was thinking and feeling. He had never before shared anything so personal with anyone else.

- - -

Ryou slowly opened his eyes. He blinked and then smiled slightly as Bakura's face came into focus. His yami was sitting on the side of the bed, looking down on him with the most anxious look on his face. Ryou was confused for a moment over what would cause his yami to be so concerned. Then he remembered. "Hello Bakura. I am sorry. I did not mean to worry you."

At his light's voice, a little of the tension eased in Bakura. It returned with interest at Ryou's words though. He frowned. "Why are you apologising? You got hurt. It was not your fault at all. It was those idiots who hurt you." He somehow managed to keep his voice calm and low, with no hint of the anger he still felt towards the gang of bullies.

The boy's pale cheeks filled with colour. "I should have tried to get away, but I was so scared I could not move. I wanted to. But... my legs would not obey me. If I had run, they would not have hit me." He looked away.

A moment later, Ryou gasped as a gentle hand touched his cheek and turned his head back around. Bakura smiled at him with the gentlest smile Ryou had ever seen on his yami's face.

"It was not your fault, my light. They had you surrounded. Trapped. The only way you could have run would have been down the stairs and we both know that way only leads into the sunken garden. There is no other way out. Had you run, they would only have followed and cornered you there. Then they would have been angered and I am sure they would have hurt you just as much, if not more, than they did. You did the right thing to call me out when you did."

Ryou's brow furrowed as he frowned. "But Bakura... I did not call you out."

"What?" Bakura stared at his light in shock.

Ryou was still frowning. "The bullies were hitting me, then Keaven Yamahaka struck me hard and knocked me off my feet. I stumbled and I remember falling... and pain... but then everything went dark until just now, when I opened my eyes and saw you."

He looked curiously at his yami. "What happened to the bullies, Bakura? What happened to us? Did you use the Physical Form spell so you could fight them off?"

Bakura shook his head. "No. At least... I do not think I did." It was his turn to frown as he thought back over what had happened. "I was asleep in my soulroom and then I was suddenly awake in physical form, facing the gang. I did not really have time to think about what had happened then, and later... I assumed that you must have cast it on me."

"No... I do not believe so." Ryou bit his lip. "Unless I did it without realising. Is that possible?"

"Not as far as I know. According to the book, the spell needs to be spoken for it to work." Bakura was now thoroughly confused. At the feel of Ryou's hand on his arm, he looked into his light's eyes and realised that he was not the only one feeling that way.

He smiled and covered Ryou's hand with his own. "Do not worry about it now, light. We will work it out later." Although he only intended to reassure Ryou, as Bakura spoke, he realised that he really believed what he was saying.

"All right." Ryou looked up at Bakura, looking curious again rather than confused. "So what happened to the bullies?"

Bakura smirked, his eyes gleaming as he remembered the scene. "I scared them off. This time, I targeted their leader. I don't think they'll bother you again."

"You fought them?" Ryou's eyes widened in alarm and he started to sit up. "Oh! Bakura! Are you injured? Ah!" He gasped and winced at the movement, his body tensing before he collapsed back onto the bed.

"Ryou!" Bakura leaned down over his light, his hand lightly resting in the middle of the boy's chest. "Be careful. You are the one who was injured, not I."

Ryou bit his lip and blushed. "Oh. You were not hurt at all?" He eyed his yami in obvious concern, apparently unwilling to believe that he wasn't just trying to ease his mind. Ryou relaxed again when Bakura rested his hand on his shoulder though, the touch apparently reassuring him more than the words had.

"No. I learned my lesson last time. This time, I didn't give them a chance to hit me. I just used the Ring on their leader. He fell and the others panicked. It was all over before they knew what had happened." Bakura knew he sounded smug but he didn't care. It had been a glorious victory and the bullies had received the punishment they had deserved.

"Oh dear. You sealed his soul?" Ryou winced. "Do I want to know what you sealed it within?" His yami's past record included small figurines, pebbles, trees, rubbish bins, a telephone pole, a rosebush and a rather memorable incident that had resulted in his History Teacher's soul being consigned for a week within a teakettle.

Bakura smiled serenely, a look which often spoke of intense pain and acute suffering or misfortune for whoever he was thinking about at the time. "Probably not, but I'll tell you anyway. I sealed his soul..." he paused for dramatic effect, "... in the right shoe of the idiot who called me a freak before he raced off with his tail between his legs."

Ryou blinked, then went paler than he already had been. "Oh dear. You gave one of them a tail? Was that a spell in the Book of Secret Arts?"

It took Bakura a moment to work out what his light was talking about, then he bit his lip to keep from smiling. "It was just a phrase, Ryou. I did not give anyone a tail, or anything else for that matter." He paused as a thought struck him. "Although it would not surprise me if there actually was such a spell in that book. Why not? That cursed mage put just about every other silly spell in there." He sighed and shook his head.

Ryou smiled slightly and looked relieved. "I am glad, Bakura. I do not think the spells in the Book of Secret Arts were intended to be used in such a way. They strike me as being spells to help or to make life a little more enjoyable."

Bakura arched an eyebrow. "There is a spell to make a pineapple tap-dance."

His light smiled a little more. "It must get rather boring in the Shadow Realm. A little entertainment, such as a dancing pineapple, might be welcomed on occasion."

The yami shook his head as he chuckled. "My light... you never cease to amaze me. You always see the good in everything. Even in confounding books written by cursed magicians." His smile faded as he looked deep into his light's eyes. "Even in me."

Ryou smiled at Bakura. "Of course I do. You are the darkness to my light. But one cannot exist without the other, not even within our half souls. There is a little darkness in my light and so there must be a little light in your darkness, as well."

The boy looked so sweet and innocent as he lay there, a very gentle expression in his dark brown eyes. Bakura could not resist.

Ryou's eyes widened in shock at his yami's hesitant touch, then he blushed and smiled shyly before moving his head, leaning into the contact. Although he wasn't sure what had prompted Bakura to suddenly stroke his hair, he was not complaining.

As he stroked his light's soft hair, Bakura found himself wondering why he was doing it. Then he wondered why he hadn't done it before. Although he knew that he needed to talk to Ryou, he was suddenly more than happy to put it off until later. There was one thing he needed to ask though. He had already put it off for longer than he should have.

"You took a nasty fall. How are you feeling?" Bakura tried not to tense up too much as he waited for the response. But when it came, it was not at all what he expected to hear.

The faint colour in Ryou's cheeks deepened to a deep rose pink as he bit his lip. "Safe, warm and cared for." His blush deepened even more.

Bakura could feel the heat rushing into his own cheeks but he ignored it. For once, he didn't care if his light saw him blush. He was too happy.

"I am glad, my light. That is how you made me feel, whenever you looked after me. You have done that so often and I remember each and every time. When I was in physical form, when I was in female form, when I was a kitten..." He hesitated, then took a deep breath, stealing himself. "... and when I was a chibi."

Ryou's blush was now a very deep red. He started to reply and then froze, staring at his yami in shock as Bakura's words registered in his mind. "Bakura... You... You mean..."

Bakura nodded, his eyes serious with just a hint of what might have been uncertainty in their dark depths. "Yes, my light. I remember every moment that I spent as a chibi."

To be continued...


	33. Three Wishes

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter continues on directly from the previous chapter.

**Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 33: Three Wishes**  
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou stared at his yami in shock, unable to believe what Bakura had just admitted to him. "You... You remember... your time as a chibi? You remember... everything?" He couldn't help the fact that his voice squeaked on the last word, or that he immediately blushed right to the tips of his ears.

Bakura nodded. "Yeah. Everything." He kept stroking his light's hair as he talked, the feel of the silky strands beneath his fingers somehow giving him the strength he needed to keep talking.

"I remember you singing to me. I remember you holding me. I remember how much you liked to bathe with me." His hand stilled on his light's hair and he looked away for a moment, heat rising in his cheeks for the second time in as many minutes. "I remember liking to bathe with you too." He cleared his throat and looked back at Ryou, whose cheeks were even redder than his own. Somehow, that made him able to keep looking at his light as he continued.

"I remember how warm you were and how much you cared about me. I remember Yugi saying how he knew I was me because I was the only one you cared about in that way. I remember how tightly you hugged me after I broke Father's lamp." He grimaced. "I'm sorry about that, by the way." He frowned as a particularly vivid memory slipped into his mind. "But I'm not sure I appreciate you thinking of any part of Kura's anatomy in relation to that hideous example of Father's bad taste."

Ryou blushed very deeply and bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Bakura. I did not mean to, truly! I just... thought that the curves... um..." He stopped as his yami glared at him. "I should probably stop there."

"Good thinking." Bakura resumed stroking his light's hair, silently reassuring him that he wasn't annoyed with him. Well... not very annoyed, at least. But that matter would have to wait for now. He had something far more important to say to Ryou.

"I also remember... that I loved being with you like that and I didn't want to change back." Bakura sighed softly. "It was a fleeting thought when the magic was already working. For just a moment, I knew that everything was about to change and I didn't want it to. I was so happy and I wanted to stay that way. Then I changed back and I made both of us miserable by putting distance between us."

He looked into his light's warm and startled chocolate eyes and smiled a little. "I was a fool. I withdrew from you because I didn't know what to do or say to you. All my thoughts were jumbled up and I couldn't straighten them out. I think that must have been a side-effect of the spell. But it meant that I couldn't find the words to talk to you and I could feel your misery over my silence. After you left for school, I curled up on your bed and went to sleep. I think that may have been when the spell really finished. When I woke up, my mind was clear and all my confusion was gone."

Ryou looked as if he was on the verge of tears. "Oh... Bakura... I'm sorry. I had no idea you were suffering like that!" He reached up with his good hand and gently stroked his yami's cheek. "I thought you were just... angry that the spell that done that to you."

Bakura's hand covered Ryou's as he lightly nuzzled into the touch. "Oh, there was that too. At least at first. I think I know why it did, now."

"You mean... You know why the spell made you a chibi?" Ryou's eyes widened in surprise.

"I think so." Bakura kept stroking his light's hair, finding the action strangely calming as his sudden nervousness threatened to make him stop speaking.

"When I first used the Physical Form spell... we found out how used to each other we had become. How difficult it was for us to completely relax when we weren't together. Your fussing over me when I was ill... It felt... nice." Bakura didn't even wince as he spoke the word he normally disliked.

"When I turned myself into a girl, I thought it was the worst thing possible. When Father came home and caught us, I was sure of it. But we worked together and came through it fine. We even went to the dance and it was there I realised that it wasn't just the Ring that I felt possessive of." He looked away as Ryou gasped and blushed even more deeply than he already had been.

"The kitten spell... I hated that one. Or at least... I thought I did. I'm not so sure, now. You were so gentle with me. You made me realise that you really did care about me. Not just because I was your yami," Bakura quickly interrupted before Ryou could protest that he had always cared for him. "But because your heart is so full of warmth. Even for one such as me." He blinked as Ryou's hand, that had dropped back to the bed when he had turned his face away from the boy, suddenly touched his arm very gently. He slowly turned his head back to look at his light.

Ryou's smile was very gentle and warm. "To me, you have always been my other half. You complete me, as I complete you. But when you are separate from me, even in your physical form, as you are now... I do not feel any less whole. You are and always will be a part of me, but I also see you, and care for you, as you... as Bakura."

Bakura gently covered Ryou's hand with his own again and nodded. "I know that now. I began to understand that during the first spell." He sighed softly. "You know how stubborn I am. Apparently one spell wasn't enough for me to realise any of this. It was like... that jigsaw puzzle we started on Christmas Day, only this was a puzzle about what I was feeling for you. I kept finding pieces of it in the results of every spell I used from that book. It was coming together a little at a time."

"Every spell?" Ryou looked curious. "Even the one you cast on that little girl's card?"

"Yeah. Even that one." Bakura smiled a little more at his light. "That was only the second time I completely understood the spell I was casting. The first time had been the spell on our kittens. You know, the one that makes them invisible to anyone who doesn't have the Shadow Magic." Ryou nodded. "Most of the time, the book is written in such bad writing I can barely read it. It's also usually in English or Japanese." He took a deep breath as he prepared to admit to something that he had never thought he would ever reveal to his light. "I can't read those languages very well."

"Oh, Bakura! Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you." Ryou's distress eased a little as Bakura smiled almost tenderly at him. No... There was really no 'almost' about that smile.

"I know. That was why. I was too proud to admit my weakness to you." Bakura stroked the boy's hair and shrugged. "But now I'm thinking the real weakness was in letting my pride get the better of me. I do that a lot." He looked seriously at Ryou. "I can't promise I won't keep doing it."

Ryou smiled at his yami and nodded. "It's all right. If you do, I'll just remind you not to."

Bakura smiled back at his light. "Thanks."

He let the moment between them last a little longer, then shrugged. "Anyway... that card repair spell was only the second time I could understand what I was reading. Looking back on that now... I don't know why I didn't see the pattern earlier."

"Pattern?" Ryou looked confused.

"Yeah. When I cast a spell for myself, it's hard to read and it never seems to do what I expect and want it to do. But when I cast a spell for you, or someone else... I can read it fine and it works perfectly." Bakura sighed. "I'd curse the Dark Magician for making the spellbook like that, except that I think I know why he did." He moved his hand down and lightly caressed Ryou's pale cheek.

"The spells in the Book of Secret Arts are very powerful. That much magic shouldn't be used idly. I've seen firsthand how corrupting such power can be. Really, you'd think I'd have learned sooner that it shouldn't be used without good reason." Bakura grimaced and shook his head. "Maybe that's why the last spell I cast was so painful. The pain was meant to be a deterrent. The others were the same. Apparently, only the spells that are really needed are painless."

Ryou nodded, understanding what Bakura was saying. He too had noticed that the spells he had cast from the book out of necessity had worked and caused him no pain to cast. Bakura had mentioned how painful his three transformations had been and he had personally felt the pain of the wish-granting spell. He shivered a little at the memory and then smiled shyly as Bakura's hand immediately moved back to his hair and resumed stroking it. "The price of the magic is greater when the magic is not necessary."

Bakura nodded as well. "I think so, yeah." He took a few moments to just lightly stroke Ryou's hair as he gathered his courage for what he still had to tell his light.

"I learned something from each of the spells and there was a pattern to them. If I'd realised that sooner, I might not have been so quick to cast that last one." Bakura frowned slightly. "I would have known that the wishes it would grant wouldn't be the ones I thought they would be."

At his yami's words, Ryou's eyes went wide with shock and surprise. "You mean... the spell did not work? It granted you... the wrong wishes?"

"Not exactly." Bakura frowned a little more as he tried to work out how to explain it. "When I cast the spell, I had three wishes in my mind. The usual ones for me: power, treasure and to have the Pharaoh grovelling at my feet as he apologised for every insult, glare and order he'd ever given me and proclaimed me to be the better man and duelist." He got a distant look in his eyes as his lips curved up into a small smile. "Not necessarily in that order."

Ryou bit his lip to keep from giggling. "Bakura..." Trust his yami to include that last one on his list of top three wishes.

Bakura grinned at his light and stroked his hair some more. "Hey, a guy can dream, right? Anyway, those were the wishes I had in mind for the spell to grant. Turned out... the spell didn't work that way." His smile faded and he looked very serious. "The spell was a lot more powerful than I gave it credit for. Instead of the wishes of the caster's mind... that spell grants nothing less than the deepest desires of the caster's soul. When I changed back, I knew that. Along with the four wishes."

"Four?" As Ryou stared at him in shock, Bakura continued. He was determined to get through this without chickening out. No matter how embarrassing the next few minutes would be.

Baring one's heart probably wasn't meant to be easy.

"I vaguely remember hearing someone... I think it was Dark Witch... tell you that I'd grown that first night because the spell had found that one of my wishes had already happened. So it had taken that one off the list and replaced it with another one." He looked to Ryou for confirmation and continued at his nod. "Well, that first wish... was for you to realise just how much you needed me."

Bakura ignored the heat in his face and focused instead on looking into his light's astonished eyes. "Selfish of me, I know. Apparently the spell goes by what the caster believes, for things like that. I didn't know that you had already realised that you needed me, so the spell thought that wish still needed to be granted. I'm not sure how it learned otherwise... maybe just from your actions that first day. However it happened, the spell adjusted itself that night and cancelled out that first wish, since it had technically done nothing to grant it. So it pushed another wish into the coveted third spot."

"You... could sense that?" Ryou looked very confused.

"Yes and no." Bakura shrugged. "When I woke up after my nap that first morning after I changed back, the knowledge was just... there. Along with the four wishes." He scowled. "It kind of felt as if someone had put a note inside my mind saying 'these are the wishes that were granted, so you don't feel cheated because you didn't gain any physical object as a result of the spell and try to cast it again.' As if I'd be that stupid. That spell hurt."

Ryou smiled a little at his yami's reaction to the 'mental note'. "It seems that spell covered everything."

The comment made Bakura relax again. He nodded. "Well, at least it explained why I didn't end up with what I thought I'd wished for. I was pretty annoyed that there was no sign of mountains of gold and jewels when I changed back." He grinned as Ryou chuckled softly.

"You did look rather upset at the time. So... Bakura... what were the three wishes that the spell granted?" Ryou's hesitant voice made it clear that he wasn't sure he should be asking, or that his yami would answer him.

Bakura stroked Ryou's hair and then moved his hand down to stroke his cheek instead. He needed to feel the connection to his light and it was stronger when they were touching skin to skin. "The first wish was for you to not hate me and still accept me and want me as your yami. The second wish, and I think it was also the one that resulted in my becoming a chibi, was..." Bakura hesitated, feeling the heat rising into his cheeks. He shifted on the bed and focused on stroking Ryou's cheek for a moment, until he was a bit calmer and his voice was not quite so husky. "The second wish was for you to still be willing to fuss over me and look after me, even after what I'd done."

"Oh, Bakura..." Ryou lifted his hand and gently stroked his yami's cheek. "I thought you knew that I would always be willing to do that." He smiled gently at his mirror-image. "How many times have you told me that I would fuss over a snowman in a snowstorm to make sure he was cold enough?"

As Ryou had no doubt intended, his words made Bakura chuckle. "A few... although maybe not those exact words." He grinned and moved his hand back to stroking Ryou's soft hair.

The boy smiled at him. "What about the third wish?"

Bakura hesitated and then mentally cursed as he saw the hesitation in his light's eyes again. "I wanted to know... how you really feel about me." Again, heat coursed through his cheeks.

Ryou blinked at his yami in obvious confusion. "But... Bakura... isn't that... more or less the same as the first two wishes?"

"No. The first two wishes were... very selfish of me." Bakura looked away again, unable to bring himself to see the pain he knew he was about to bring to his precious light. "I wished for you to feel certain things, to not hate me and to still want to look after me. I thought for sure that you wouldn't feel that way after... what I'd done to you and the others. I wanted you to still care about me. I didn't want to have ruined... everything. That was what I was feeling when I cast the spell. So they were the wishes the spell acted on."

Although he knew what he would see, Bakura couldn't keep from looking at his light for another moment. Much to his surprise though, Ryou didn't look at all horrified. A faint frown creased the boy's forehead, true, but he seemed more confused than anything else.

"But Bakura... I do not believe the spell influenced my feelings in either of those ways. I never stopped caring about you or wanting you to be my yami or wanting to fuss over you or anything like that!" Ryou looked anxiously into his other half's eyes. "Please believe me."

Bakura smiled slightly and nodded as his hand gently stroked Ryou's hair, his other hand moving to lightly clasp the boy's uninjured hand. "I know, my light. The third wish showed me the truth. It showed me that your heart had never turned from me. But, like I said... the spell could only act on what I knew. I doubted you... so very much. But in the end, I was shown how wrong I was. I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Ryou." He gently squeezed his light's hand as the boy smiled happily at him.

"It was not your fault. You were just worried." Ryou gently squeezed Bakura's hand in return.

"Yeah, well... I shouldn't have been. I should have known better and just trusted you." Bakura shook his head. "Getting back to the whole chibi thing, though... I think those two wishes were the reason for it. With me in that form, you'd need to look after me and you'd also want me back as your yami."

Ryou nodded slowly. "Both wishes would be fulfilled. I see. But... they were already true when the spell was cast, so... shouldn't they have been replaced by other wishes as well?"

He still looked very confused and Bakura couldn't blame him for it. The yami was still a bit unsure of that point himself.

"I think it was because the first wish was for you to realise something that you already knew and I just didn't know it. The other wishes were things that I needed to realise. The spell made me realise them, so it sort of granted those wishes." He sighed. "I suppose I should be annoyed about it, really. It does feel like I got shorted on the whole three wishes bit. But..." His pout changed to a surprisingly tender smile as he stroked his light's hair. "To be honest... I'm actually pretty pleased with how it all turned out."

Ryou blushed and smiled back as he nodded. "Me too. Bakura... I am very glad that you are my yami."

"Not half as glad as I am that you're my light, Ryou." Bakura lifted Ryou's hand to his lips and softly kissed it, causing the boy to blush even more deeply.

Taking pity on both of them, since if either of them blushed much more they'd still be red the next time they saw their friends, Bakura gently released Ryou's hand and cast his mind around for a change in topic. Inspiration, and a lot of guilt, hit when he noticed the boy shifting a little, as if he was uncomfortable.

The yami studied his light closely. "We've been talking all this time... How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?" He was rather ashamed of himself for not realising sooner how pale Ryou was.

Ryou blushed a little and shook his head. "I'm all right. My head and wrist are hurting a little, and my side too, but it's nothing a little rest won't set right."

"I'll go get you some pain killers." Bakura quickly stood and headed for the door.

"Um... Bakura..." Ryou's hesitant voice made him quickly turn back.

"Something else you want? A snack? A bath? A camel? I'll get you anything you want! Well... almost anything." He frowned slightly. "I draw the line at getting you a duck."

Ryou giggled very softly, causing a strange warm sensation to flood through Bakura's body. "If it's not too much trouble, could I please have a glass of cold water with the tablets? I'm a little thirsty."

Bakura smiled gently at his sweet and completely untroublesome light and nodded. "All right. I'll be right back."

"Thank you, Bakura."

- - -

Ten minutes, one glass of cold water and two pain relief tablets later and Ryou sank back down onto the mattress. He smiled shyly at his yami, who was hovering even worse than Ryou would have hovered if it had been Bakura injured in the bed. "I'll be fine. Really."

Bakura nodded. "I know. You should probably try to get some rest, though."

"I will soon." Ryou began to try to sit up again. He smiled at Bakura as the yami quickly moved to help him. "Right after I call Yugi. I was supposed to meet him and the others at the library. They will be wondering where I am." His guilt-filled chocolate eyes pleaded with Bakura to let him get up as the yami frowned and began to try and push him back down onto the bed.

"There's no need. No..." Bakura quickly put a finger to Ryou's lips when the boy began to protest. "I mean, they already know. Yugi called here earlier, just after I got you home. That was a few hours ago. I told him what happened. He wanted to come over, but I said I'd look after you and you'd see him at school tomorrow, if you felt up to going."

Ryou blinked at his clever and thoughtful yami and then smiled shyly. "Oh. Thank you."

Bakura looked a little embarrassed at being thanked for something so simple. "If you really want to thank me, lie down and get some rest."

"All right." Ryou began to try to get out of bed.

"I said rest. Not get up." Bakura scowled at his uncooperative light. "Now what's wrong?"

Ryou blushed. "I was just going to get you something to eat. If a few hours have passed, then you must be hungry."

"I made myself a sandwich earlier, while I was waiting for you to wake up." Bakura put his hands on his hips and frowned down at his light as he stood beside the bed. "Are you hungry?" At Ryou's headshake, Bakura's frown deepened. "Then stop trying to look after me and let me look after you. Now will you please lie down and rest!" He scowled at the blushing boy. "I said rest, not blush! Go on, lie down. That's right... now close those big eyes of yours. Will you please stop blushing?"

He scowled more deeply as Ryou's eyes opened again. "Hey, get those eyes closed! Why are you smiling?" He crossed his arms and scowled down at his non-obedient light.

"Because I don't think I can sleep if you're not with me," Ryou admitted softly, causing his yami to sigh and give him an irritated look. Or perhaps the look was because Ryou's blush had just deepened.

"Fine. I'll have a nap too." Bakura moved around to the other side of Ryou's double bed and paused just long enough to remove his sneakers before moving onto the mattress. He rolled over onto his side and one hand reached automatically to stroke his light's hair as he settled down. "Happy now?" His gruff voice was at odds with the tender look in his eyes.

Ryou smiled sweetly at his wonderful yami. "Very happy." He closed his eyes.

Bakura stroked his light's hair for a few minutes, listening to his breathing as it gradually evened out into the slow and deep breaths of sleep. Only when he was certain that Ryou was sleeping did he close his own eyes. All his worrying over Ryou that afternoon, combined with his nervousness about talking to him, had resulted in Bakura feeling nothing short of exhausted.

A few minutes later, both light and yami were sound asleep.

- - -

The house was still with not even the drip of a tap to break the silence. In Ryou's bedroom, the only sound was the soft breathing of the two boys as they slept. The night was cold and the yami had woken just long enough to slip under the cosy covers. Even then, he had instinctively drawn closer to his light for added warmth.

As the clock in the hall struck midnight, Bakura stirred at the soft sound and snuggled closer, his head moving until it was half on the pillow and half on Ryou's shoulder. The movement caused the sheet to slip a little; revealing the steady golden glow coming from the Millennium Ring and its shadow-self as they hung around the two boys' necks.

Across the room, the large and ancient book sitting on Ryou's desk began to glow with the same golden light, as if the Book of Secret Arts was responding to the Millennium Item and its twin.

To be concluded...


	34. The Book's Secret

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm both thrilled and saddened to say that this is the last chapter of 'Another Source of Magic'. This story has been a part of my life for several years and I have loved every moment of working on it. I hope that you have enjoyed reading it, too. I also want to thank everyone who has read or reviewed this story. I greatly appreciate every comment and knowing that people enjoy reading what I have written is the greatest thrill in the world for me. Thank you!

DEDICATION: For my wonderful Friend and incredible Beta, Vash is my Angel, who loves this story almost as much as I do. Thank you so much for applying your beta skills on my behalf, but thank you even more for the gift of your friendship.

**Another Source of Magic  
Chapter 34: The Book's Secret**  
By Shadow's Mirror

Midnight. The witching hour.

In Ryou's bedroom, the only sound was the soft breathing of the light and his yami as they slept peacefully by each other's side.

The moonlight shone through the crack in the curtain, but it was another source of light that bathed the room in a gentle golden glow.

The Millennium Ring hanging around Ryou's neck and its shadow twin that hung around Bakura's were both glowing softly, as was the ancient tome of magic lying on Ryou's desk on the other side of the room.

Although the window was shut tight and no wayward breeze had invaded the room, the front cover of the Book of Secret Arts suddenly flew open and the book's pages began to turn as if a wind was blowing them. The rustling sound was oddly soft, as if the book did not wish to wake the two boys sleeping nearby. After a few moments, the pages finally stilled; the book lying open at the final page.

The final... blank... page.

The Ring pulsed once.

The Shadow Ring responded to it with a similar pulse.

The book responded to both of the Rings, but not with a pulse of light. Instead, golden words in a neatly scripted hand began to appear on its last page, as if someone unseen was writing them.

'If Light and Shadow these words see,  
Then in balance their hearts shall be.  
With this knowledge, shall their gift begin,  
Mastery of all the spells within.  
While this gift goes to Dark and Light,  
They have the way to set things right.  
While true to their hearts they remain,  
In the Shadow Realm, peace shall reign.  
One final wisdom shall I impart,  
The Greatest Magic lies in the heart.  
So it has been, and will be forever,  
That your power is strongest when you stand together.'

As the last word was written, the golden glow around the three magic items faded as if it had never been. The only sign that something strange had happened was the book remaining open.

- - -

"Now that's odd."

Hearing his yami say that first thing in the morning was not usually a good sign, but it was the wary note in his yami's voice that caught Ryou's attention, more than his words. "What is it, Bakura?" Still half asleep, he rubbed his eyes, wincing as his injured wrist complained at the movement.

When no answer came, the white-haired boy carefully got out of bed, favouring the side that he had fallen heavily on, the day before. He joined his yami on the other side of the room and bit his lip when he noticed that the other boy was frowning at the book that lay open on his desk. "Um... Bakura... why are you looking at the Book of Secret Arts?"

"I'm not. Well... no, I am... but not how you mean." Bakura ran a hand through his already tousled hair and sighed as he gestured to the book. "I'm not reading it. It's just... When we went to bed last night, this cursed book was closed. I'm sure of it. I'm also sure that this page was blank, the last time I looked at it." He scowled at the book as if blaming it for his confusion.

Ryou blinked. "The book was closed and the last page was blank?" He frowned slightly. "When did you look at the last page?"

Bakura was still frowning at the book. "The spell that turned me into a kitten was near the end of the book, so I flipped through from the end to find it. The last three pages were blank. I remember noticing them at the time and thinking how odd it was for a spellbook to have blank pages."

"Oh." Ryou bit his lip harder. "That page is not blank." He leaned over a little and read the words, then re-read them, a slight frown creasing his brow.

"Yeah. But what's worrying me the most is that the book's open now. This book... A couple of times, I've wondered if it has some spell cast on it to help find spells when they're needed. But this... I don't see how we could possibly need this. I mean... there's no mention of what it does! Only a fool would cast it." Bakura's scowl became a fully-fledged glare.

Ryou finished reading the words for the third time and shook his head slightly. "Bakura... I don't think this is a spell."

"Not a spell?" Bakura arched an eyebrow at his light, then looked at the words again. "Then... what is it?"

"I think it might be... a message to us." Ryou looked at his yami. "It talks about Dark and Light and look at the first line."

Bakura frowned. "'If Light and Shadow these words see...' Oh Ra. You're right." He slipped his arm around his light's waist and moved back a few steps, gently pulling Ryou with him. Once at a safe distance, he eyed the book with distaste.

"Um... Bakura... What are you doing?" Ryou blinked at his other half in confusion.

"Protecting you. I don't trust that book." Bakura spared his light a glance, then returned to watching the book for any sign of... well... anything that would indicate that it was evil or malicious or had it in for him and his light.

There was no such thing as paranoia when a book of spells that did odd things was involved.

"Now what has that poor book ever done to you? It was hardly its fault that you never read completely through most of the spells you cast from it."

At the first word, Bakura whirled around, snarling. By the end of the first sentence, he had moved between his light and the tall man in the long purple robes and odd hat who had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. By the end of the second sentence he was bristling and growling softly. "Why are you here? What do you want?" He glared at the man.

The Dark Magician arched an eyebrow and pouted at the white-haired yami. "My, such charming manners and when I came all this way for the sole purpose of explaining everything to you."

"Why you...!"

"An explanation?" Ryou's soft question immediately quietened Bakura, although he kept glaring at the Shadow Monster to make sure that he didn't think he was welcome there, or anything like that.

The mage smiled gently at Ryou and nodded. "Indeed. I believe it is time for me to tell you and Bakura a few things that may be of interest to you."

"Then hurry up and talk. We don't have all day." Bakura was still glaring at him.

"Of course." The Dark Magician nodded again and took a deep breath. "Firstly... Bakura... if you would be so kind... Please go and look in the book. Any page will do." At the yami's angered snarl, he smiled slightly. "It is all right. You have my word that I am only here to talk. No harm shall befall either you or your light." His brown eyes were gentle and kind as they locked with Bakura's.

An odd look came over the former tombrobber's face, a mix of surprise and concern. He abruptly moved over to the book. His hand hesitated only briefly before touching it. When nothing happened, he relaxed and turned a few pages. Then he turned a few more. Then he began to flip through the book.

Ryou watched his yami with growing unease. He could feel his other's tension and knew he was almost at breaking point. "Bakura... What's wrong?"

Bakura went still and had to swallow hard before he could speak. "The spells. They're not... I can read them, Ryou. I can read them all, as clearly as if I'd written them myself." His voice was soft.

As his light gasped in shock, his hands flying to his mouth, Bakura slowly turned to face the Dark Magician. He eyed him warily.

"You said you came to explain. I'm listening." He still spoke far more quietly than normal.

The mage nodded. "Firstly, I should tell you that the Book of Secret Arts that you have is no mere copy. It is the original. When you summon it into your world, you summon it directly from my own desk." He smiles wryly. "So naturally, I notice when you do so." As Ryou went bright red and Bakura shifted his stance and began to look rather uncomfortable, the Dark Magician's smile brightened. "As it is rather inconvenient for me to have my spellbook vanish at odd times, I have decided that it is probably for the best if you have your own copy."

Ryou gasped and Bakura looked alarmed. "That's... really not necessary. Really!"

"Oh no, I insist!" The mage smiled serenely and waved his staff. The book on the table vanished. A moment later, an identical book appeared in its place. "There you are. Now, I have linked that book directly to your card, so you can still summon it that way. I thought that would be easier for you than having it around all the time. That could be... problematic... for you at times, I know."

Blushing as he realised that the Dark Magician meant that in regards to his father, Ryou nodded. "Thank you very much."

Bakura glared at the mage. "I said I don't want your blasted spellbook!"

The Dark Magician shook his head and looked a little bewildered. "But Bakura... you are not getting my blasted spellbook. That, as the description implies, is somewhat charred at the moment. It would be rather difficult for you to read it in that state."

The yami blinked. He was still trying to work out if the Magician was really that big an idiot when he noticed the soft sound of his light trying very hard to keep from laughing... and failing badly. He sighed as his anger drained away into a pool of simmering mild resentment. "Fine. We'll keep the book."

"Oh good." The Dark Magician beamed at both boys as if he was extremely happy. "For what is it worth, Bakura... now that you and Ryou have unlocked the book's secret, you will have no further trouble with reading the spells. Of course, whether or not they work as you intend, will depend on whether you choose the right spell for the task." He shrugged. "But then, that is usually how magic works, as you know."

Bakura nodded slightly, too distracted by what the mage had said for him to be annoyed that the Shadow Monster also knew about his problems with the spells. "The book's secret... You mean... those words at the end of it?" He turned to the copy that the Dark Magician had given them and quickly checked the last page.

For some reason, the sight of the golden words made him feel both relieved and oddly tense.

"Yes." The Dark Magician nodded, his mood suddenly the most serious it had been since his arrival in the room. "You were having trouble with the spells because you were doing them for the wrong reasons. Any magic used selfishly will always rebound upon the caster." He held up a hand as Bakura scowled at him. "That is not something I added to the spells in that book. It is simply one of the rules that all magic abides by." He smiled at Bakura as the boy silently nodded.

Although Bakura wasn't happy about the rule, he understood it.

The Dark Magician smiled at both boys. "As long as you both use the magic for the right reasons, you may continue to use the book. If you are ever in doubt that a reason is right... ask the book for guidance. It is often quite good at that sort of thing."

Bakura scowled. "Like I said before, I'm not interested in using it anymore. It's caused more trouble than it's worth."

"I know, however..." The mage's deep brown eyes were suddenly filled with what looked very much like pain and sorrow.

Ryou bit his lip and quickly checked himself before he took more than a step towards the Dark Magician, the Shadow Monster's sorrow calling to something deep within him. A glance at his yami confirmed that Bakura had not missed his light's instinctive movement.

When Bakura joined his other half, Ryou found the warmth of Bakura's hand grasping his to be surprisingly comforting.

"However?" For the second time, Bakura's voice was unusually subdued. He too seemed to be aware at the shift in the mage's mood.

"However... I fear that the two of you may soon need the powers of this book... for what is coming." He shook his head and again held up a hand to forestall Bakura's impatient questioning. "No, Bakura. I fear that I can tell you nothing more. Indeed... I have already said far too much." He smiled at the scowling yami. "There is something else I can tell you, though."

"What?" Bakura continued to scowl at the irritating mage.

"When you first summoned the Book of Secret Arts, I felt your thoughts and feelings towards it. You called it into your world, believing that it would be another source of magic that you could master."

Bakura sighed and nodded abruptly. "That was wrong. I know."

"No. Actually... you were absolutely right." The Dark Magician grinned as Bakura and Ryou both blinked at him in shock. "Yes, I know, I can barely believe it myself. But facts are facts. Through this book, Bakura, you have not only learned how to tap into another source of magic, but you have mastered it."

The yami eyed the mage in obvious bewilderment. "Most of the spells I used..." He couldn't quite bring himself to admit to his failure, even though he was sure the man already knew of it.

The Dark Magician was now smiling very gently at Bakura. He looked almost like a proud father or uncle, rather than the long-term nemesis of the former Thief King. "The spells did not work as you wished them too because you cast the wrong spells. The magic you used was never the problem. Or rather... I should say, the magics you used." He placed a slight stress on the plural and nodded as both white-haired boys tensed in sudden understanding.

"There were... two types of magic in those spells? Intertwined?" Bakura looked more than a little startled at the news.

Nodding, the mage smiled. "Yes. Bakura, the Shadow Magic is very powerful, however there are some things for which it requires a little... boost. Another type of magic interweaves with the Shadow Magic for most of the spells in the Book of Secret Arts."

"What other type of magic?" Bakura looked and sounded as if he really wasn't sure he wanted to know, but felt compelled to ask, anyway.

"The magic that is found within the heart and soul of every being." The Dark Magician smiled. "A power that lights are always the first to find, and that they may sometimes lead their yami's to understand."

Bakura's eyes narrowed. "If you say 'love', there is a good possibility that I may hurt you, purely because that's so incredibly corny."

Ryou made an odd sort of strangled squeaking sound and quickly covered his mouth with his uninjured hand before he could burst out laughing.

"Then I shall not say it." The Dark Magician pouted at Bakura. "Even though it is true." He shrugged as the yami began to stalk towards him. "Why else do you suppose that the key to unlocking the book's secret, its true power, was for you to realise where your true place lay in this world?"

His words stopped Bakura in his tracks.

An odd look passed over the yami's face as he looked into the Dark Magician's eyes. "Who... are you?"

His words were nothing more than a whisper, but they had a strange effect on the mage. Suddenly looking rather nervous, the Dark Magician smiled somewhat distractedly. "Well, I have said my piece so it is time I returned to the Shadow Realm. Yes, I had best do that right away. Farewell and use the book wisely." He waved and then vanished in a cloud of purple smoke that smelled rather strongly of cheese and pickled herring.

Cursing the Dark Magician in between bouts of coughing, Bakura ran to the window and opened it up as Ryou made a hasty retreat into the hallway.

A few deep breaths later, Bakura finally managed to catch his breath well enough to call out to his light. "Ryou... please tell me we're not having cheese or fish for breakfast. I really don't think I could handle it."

The sound that came from the hall in response made him sigh loudly. "It's not funny. I was closer to him than you so I got the full effect of it." He sighed again as the sound continued. "Ryou... will you please stop laughing!"

"Sorry... Bakura." Ryou made a concentrated effort to control his giggling and smiled at his yami as he peeked into the room. "How about pancakes?"

Bakura frowned at his other half suspiciously. "With honey?"

Ryou smiled tenderly and nodded. "With honey."

"I suppose that will do." A slight smile eased Bakura's grumpy expression.

His light smiled back. "I'll just get changed, first." He bit his lip. "If it is... safe... now?"

Bakura sniffed the air and nodded. "Yeah. The smell's almost gone." He shook his head and sighed, looking annoyed again. "Wouldn't you think he'd at least be able to come up with smoke that didn't stink?"

"Well, since he's gone by the time it appears, perhaps he's unaware that it does." Ryou began to head for his wardrobe.

"Oh no. He knows. He did it deliberately, just to annoy me. I'm sure of it. Cursed magician and his cursed cryptic comments." Bakura scowled at the memory of the conversation with the mage.

He tensed, then relaxed again as he felt a gentle touch. Turning his head, Bakura smiled slightly at his worried light. His hand rose to cover Ryou's where it rested on his arm. "Don't worry. I'm not really angry with him. I'm just... annoyed."

Ryou smiled and nodded. "All right." He bit his lip and looked a little hesitant.

"What is it?" Bakura grinned as his light blinked at him in surprise. "I can always tell when you want to ask me something but aren't sure if you should. What's on your mind?"

A faint tide of colour washed over Ryou's cheeks. "I was just wondering... what do you think the Dark Magician meant by what he said? About the key to the book being your realisation as to where your true place was in this world."

Bakura was quiet for a moment. Just as Ryou was about to apologise for asking, though, he replied very softly. "Through all the spells I cast that failed, I learned something. I realised that my place in this world... was right by your side."

He turned his head to look at his light just as Ryou moved closer to gently hug him. They both blinked in surprise as they found themselves face to face with only a few inches between them.

Bakura slowly began to lean in, his head tilting a little.

Ryou blushed and his lips parted in a soft gasp.

The sound caused a measure of sanity to return to Bakura and he quickly pulled back. "Um... I didn't mean to... I was just..." He trailed off as he noticed the last thing he had expected to see in his light's eyes at that moment.

Disappointment.

Ryou began to ease back. "Oh. Of course you didn't mean to. I... understand." He started to move. "I will just get changed and then I'll make us some breakfast."

Before the boy could even finish turning away, his other half had pulled him into a tight hug.

As he eased back a little, Bakura smiled tenderly at his stunned light and gently stroked the boy's soft cheek. "My light, I don't know what the future holds for us or what the Dark Magician meant by us needing the book for what's coming, and I'll admit that worries me a bit. But I do know one thing. That last line of what was written in the book is something that I know to be true. You and I... we're strongest when we are together. I won't ever forget that again. You are my light. I am your yami. I know you love me. Well guess what... Ryou... I love you too."

He lowered his head again, this time with no hesitation.

During the few minutes that followed, only two thoughts crystallised clearly enough in Bakura's mind for him to remember them later.

The first one was that his light really was as sweet as he looked.

The second... Why in the Shadows hadn't they done this sooner?

The End


End file.
